Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study
Data from the global South show higher COVID-19-related mortality in children compared to the North. Parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children once COVID-19 vaccines are available is poorly documented. We assessed parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children in the DRC. A year after the v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2422686 |
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| author | Ashuza Shamamba Guillaume Duduzile Ndwandwe Arsene Daniel Nyalundja Patrick Musole Bugeme Alain Balola Ntaboba Victoire Urbain Hatu’m Jacques Lukenze Tamuzi Chinwe Iwu-Jaja Tony Akilimali Shindano Charles S. Wiysonge Patrick D.M.C. Katoto |
| author_facet | Ashuza Shamamba Guillaume Duduzile Ndwandwe Arsene Daniel Nyalundja Patrick Musole Bugeme Alain Balola Ntaboba Victoire Urbain Hatu’m Jacques Lukenze Tamuzi Chinwe Iwu-Jaja Tony Akilimali Shindano Charles S. Wiysonge Patrick D.M.C. Katoto |
| author_sort | Ashuza Shamamba Guillaume |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Data from the global South show higher COVID-19-related mortality in children compared to the North. Parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children once COVID-19 vaccines are available is poorly documented. We assessed parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children in the DRC. A year after the vaccination program started, we conducted a population and online-based cross-sectional study, using the WHO modified Behavior and Social Drivers questionnaire among parents and caregivers in the eastern DRC. We performed Modified Poisson regressions to determine factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and outright refusal, focusing on the intention to vaccinate one’s children as our primary outcome. Of the 1709 respondents aged 38 years, 82.56% were unwilling to vaccinate their children, of which 26.80% were hesitant and 55.76% were outright refusals. Drivers of hesitancy were religious refusal of vaccine, non-healthcare status, and caregiver beliefs about vaccine unsafety. Independent predictors of refusal were religious refusal of vaccine, neither healthcare nor student status and belief about vaccine effectiveness, unsafety, and distrust. In addition, both hesitancy and refusal to vaccinate one’s children were driven by not being ready to get vaccinated if recommended or mandated. In contrast, parents’ and caregivers’ trust in the government and readiness to vaccinate themselves reduced hesitancy and outright refusal to vaccinate one’s children, respectively. Briefly, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and outright refusal in eastern DRC are influenced by individual (subjective convictions) and system-level factors (government confidence, mandate trust). It is important to address these issues to improve vaccine coverage during disease outbreaks and mitigate public health risks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5d7fe1929f4b4c1eb0cab58b9df079dd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2164-5515 2164-554X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| spelling | doaj-art-5d7fe1929f4b4c1eb0cab58b9df079dd2025-08-20T02:34:25ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2024-12-0120110.1080/21645515.2024.2422686Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional studyAshuza Shamamba Guillaume0Duduzile Ndwandwe1Arsene Daniel Nyalundja2Patrick Musole Bugeme3Alain Balola Ntaboba4Victoire Urbain Hatu’m5Jacques Lukenze Tamuzi6Chinwe Iwu-Jaja7Tony Akilimali Shindano8Charles S. Wiysonge9Patrick D.M.C. Katoto10Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoCochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South AfricaFaculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoCenter for Tropical Diseases and Global Health (CTDGH), Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoFaculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoFaculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoDepartment of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South AfricaCochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South AfricaFaculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoCochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South AfricaCenter for Tropical Diseases and Global Health (CTDGH), Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of CongoData from the global South show higher COVID-19-related mortality in children compared to the North. Parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children once COVID-19 vaccines are available is poorly documented. We assessed parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children in the DRC. A year after the vaccination program started, we conducted a population and online-based cross-sectional study, using the WHO modified Behavior and Social Drivers questionnaire among parents and caregivers in the eastern DRC. We performed Modified Poisson regressions to determine factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and outright refusal, focusing on the intention to vaccinate one’s children as our primary outcome. Of the 1709 respondents aged 38 years, 82.56% were unwilling to vaccinate their children, of which 26.80% were hesitant and 55.76% were outright refusals. Drivers of hesitancy were religious refusal of vaccine, non-healthcare status, and caregiver beliefs about vaccine unsafety. Independent predictors of refusal were religious refusal of vaccine, neither healthcare nor student status and belief about vaccine effectiveness, unsafety, and distrust. In addition, both hesitancy and refusal to vaccinate one’s children were driven by not being ready to get vaccinated if recommended or mandated. In contrast, parents’ and caregivers’ trust in the government and readiness to vaccinate themselves reduced hesitancy and outright refusal to vaccinate one’s children, respectively. Briefly, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and outright refusal in eastern DRC are influenced by individual (subjective convictions) and system-level factors (government confidence, mandate trust). It is important to address these issues to improve vaccine coverage during disease outbreaks and mitigate public health risks.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2422686Children’s COVID-19 vaccinationvaccine hesitancycaregivers’ hesitancyBeSDimmunizationDemocratic Republic of Congo |
| spellingShingle | Ashuza Shamamba Guillaume Duduzile Ndwandwe Arsene Daniel Nyalundja Patrick Musole Bugeme Alain Balola Ntaboba Victoire Urbain Hatu’m Jacques Lukenze Tamuzi Chinwe Iwu-Jaja Tony Akilimali Shindano Charles S. Wiysonge Patrick D.M.C. Katoto Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics Children’s COVID-19 vaccination vaccine hesitancy caregivers’ hesitancy BeSD immunization Democratic Republic of Congo |
| title | Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Caregivers’ hesitancy and outright refusal toward children’s COVID-19 vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A community-based cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | caregivers hesitancy and outright refusal toward children s covid 19 vaccination in the democratic republic of congo a community based cross sectional study |
| topic | Children’s COVID-19 vaccination vaccine hesitancy caregivers’ hesitancy BeSD immunization Democratic Republic of Congo |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2422686 |
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