Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare personnel in a secondary-level health facility in Ghana.

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy has been a long-standing concern globally and emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare personnel. This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of vaccine hesitancy among healthcare personnel at the Volta Regional Hospital in Ghana. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 419 randomly selected healthcare personnel to collect sociodemographic, individual-level, community-level, and health system-level data, including vaccine uptake. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy at a 95% confidence level. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was found in 105 (25.1%) of respondents. Increased odds of vaccine hesitancy were associated with having 6-10 years of work experience (AOR = 3.43 95% CI = 1.44-8.18), being a midwife (AOR = 2.72 95% CI = 1.15-6.46), belief that vaccination does not guarantee protection against re-infection (AOR = 5.21 95% CI = 1.79-15.22), fear of long-term effects of COVID-19 (AOR = 2.14 95% CI = 1.18-3.86), perception of increased adverse effects among vaccinated individuals (AOR = 2.79 95% CI = 1.37-5.66), and community perception of long-term health effects of vaccination (AOR = 2.69 95% CI = 1.26-5.78). Awareness that health facilities were available to manage adverse effects reduced the odds of hesitancy (AOR = 0.23 95% CI = 0.12-0.43). Our study found that one in four healthcare personnel in the Volta Regional Hospital reported hesitancy toward receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Targeted risk communication and confidence-building strategies tailored to midwives and healthcare workers with longer years of service, including interventions aimed at improving perceptions of vaccine efficacy and safety, may enhance COVID-19 vaccine uptake.