Knowledge, Attitude and Policy related to Decision-making for Receiving COVID-19 Vaccination among Undergraduate Students in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand

Abstract

Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude, and policy for receiving Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccines among undergraduate students in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand during a two-month period between February and March 2022. The study included undergraduate students majoring in Education, Humanities, Administration and Health Science. The survey items included 5 parts: Part 1 on the demographics of participants, part 2 on vaccine knowledge, part 3 on attitude, part 4 on public policies and uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccination, while part 5 on decisions to receive COVID-19 vaccine. Results: Of 446 participants, there were 320 (71.7%) females with a mean age of 21.83 ± 9.87 years. Top reason for obtaining vaccination was receiving vaccination information from Ministry of Public Health 402 (90.1%). High knowledge was reported by 271 (60.8%) participants whereas positive attitude was observed in 218 (48.9%) individuals. There were 164 (36.8%) individuals who were uncertain for receiving COVID-19 vaccine. Females had significantly lower odds 39% for uncertainty for receiving COVID-19 vaccines (aOR 0.61, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.95). However, undergraduate students who did not receive vaccination information from public policy (aOR 3.03, 95% ci 1.38 to 6.62), and provincial policy (aOR 2.80, 95% CI 1.51 to 5.17) had significantly higher odds for uncertainty for receiving COVID-19 vaccination. Conclusion: A considerably higher gap was observed in the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate students regarding COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, most of them were uncertain about receiving COVID-19 vaccine. © Dow University of Health Sciences. All rights reserved.