Intention to Take COVID-19 Vaccine and the Associations among College Students

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to explore factors associated with decision-making among college students on taking the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine using the Health Belief Model. Materials and methods: This study used a web-based questionnaire to assess college students’ intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and their beliefs about COVID-19 and the vaccine. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. Independent group t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to assess the differences in intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine based on demographics. Pearson correlation was used to assess the associations among continuous variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with college students’ intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Results: The score for intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine was 3.76 ± 1.12. Scores for perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers were associated with the intention to take the vaccine. Conclusion: Important predictors of college students’ intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine included perceived high susceptibility to inflection, perceived high benefits, and perceived low barriers to receiving the vaccine. Interventions targeting these factors may be useful in facilitating acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine.