PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF COVID-19 VACCINE HESITANCY AMONG HEALTH SCIENCE STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR, GONDAR, ETHIOPIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Description
A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaires were adapted after a detailed analysis of relevant literature regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with some modifications (15-17). Questionnaires were prepared in English, because it is the medium of instruction in Ethiopian higher educational institutions. The questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding student socio-demographic variables (age, sex, department, year, father), source of information about COVID-19 vaccine, attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, reasons of vaccine acceptance and vaccine hesitancy. Data collection procedure, quality control To ensure data quality, the overall data collection was strictly monitored by the principal investigators. The collected data were checked for completeness, accuracy, and consistency by the investigators throughout the data collection period. Training was given to data collectors on the methods of data collection. Data collectors were informed to follow the WHO COVID-19 prevention protocols including wearing a facemask, using hand sanitizer, and keeping physical distancing during data collection. Pre-test was undertaken on 21(5%) health science students. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data analysis All the questionnaires were manually checked for completeness, then entered into Epi-Data version 4.2.0 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Descriptive data analysis results were displayed in the form of graphs, tables, and figures. Text using frequencies and summary statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percentage were used. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of each independent variable with the dependent variable. The direction and strength of statistical association are measured by odds ratio with 95% CI. The odds ratio along with 95%CI is estimated to identify predictors for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by using multivariable analysis in the binary logistic regression model. In this study, P-value <0.05 was considered a significant association.