COVID-19 vaccine refusal associated with health literacy: findings from a population-based survey in Korea

Autor: Inmyung Song, Soo Hyun Lee
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMC Public Health, Vol 23, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15182-0
Popis: Abstract Background: Poor health literacy is associated with lower utilization of preventable services. However, the relationship between health literacy and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy remains controvertible. Methods: This study used data from 229,242 individuals who completed the Community Health Survey in Korea from August 16 to October 31 in 2021. To operationalize COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, we measured vaccine refusal, which is defined as not having been vaccinated and not intending to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Health literacy is operationalized in two dimensions; the ability to understand spoken directions from health professionals and the ability to understand written information regarding health. Covariates include sex, age, educational level, marital status, employment status, basic living security pension status, and subjective health status. Two multivariable logistic regression models were run to determine factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine refusal. Model 1 included sociodemographic characteristics and subjective health status. Model 2 added two health literacy variables. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: Only 3.9% of the Korean adult population were estimated to refuse COVID-19 vaccine. The most commonly cited reasons for COVID-19 vaccine refusal were concerns about vaccine adverse events (47.6%), followed by the assessment of one’s own health status (29.5%). Individuals who found spoken directions very difficult to understand were more likely to refuse COVID-19 vaccine than those who found spoken directions very easy (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.28–1.87, p
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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