Attitudes and concerns of Turkish nursing students against the COVID-19 vaccine, willingness to be vaccinated: A cross-sectional study

Introduction

This study aimed to determine the attitudes and concerns of nursing students toward the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, their willingness to be vaccinated, and the factors affecting their willingness in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire in 498 nursing students in Izmir. Chi-square test, Student’s t-test and binary logistic regression were used in data analysis.

Results

Despite the fact that 64.5% of nursing students intended to be vaccinated against COVID-19, they expressed their attitudes and concerns about the lack of COVID-19 vaccination information (65.7%), its effectiveness (41.6%), and safety (45.8%). Students did not intend to be vaccinated due to insufficient trust in the vaccine effectiveness (84%), the continuous COVID-19 mutation. Strong predictors of nursing students' intention to be vaccinated in the logistic regression analysis; education level, family income perception, history of vaccination rejection in the past, confidence in the vaccine, the effectiveness of the vaccine, the side effects of the vaccine, seeing oneself as a guinea pig, and thinking that the vaccine will change the genetic structure were determined (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Nursing students are known to be future healthcare professionals and play a decisive role in counseling individuals in the community on the risks of COVID-19 and the benefits of the vaccine. Therefore, focusing on training that is aimed at increasing vaccine knowledge, eliminating their negative attitudes and concerns, and building confidence in vaccines is necessary.