Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey
Abstract Background Healthcare workers play an important role in administering COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in conflict-affected settings. Syria has endured a protracted conflict for over a decade and while most of the healthcare workers in the country have been vaccinated with at least one COVID...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Conflict and Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-025-00700-1 |
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| author | Zlatko Nikoloski Elnur Aliyev Robert Bain Leonardo Menchini Sahar Hegazi Mai Zalkha Shaza Mouawad Neha Kapil Amaya Gillespie |
| author_facet | Zlatko Nikoloski Elnur Aliyev Robert Bain Leonardo Menchini Sahar Hegazi Mai Zalkha Shaza Mouawad Neha Kapil Amaya Gillespie |
| author_sort | Zlatko Nikoloski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Healthcare workers play an important role in administering COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in conflict-affected settings. Syria has endured a protracted conflict for over a decade and while most of the healthcare workers in the country have been vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, vaccinating all of them would reduce their risk of COVID-19 complications, given their daily interactions with patients. Methods The goal of this study was to better understand the main barriers to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among female healthcare workers in Syria. Using data from a wider national survey of 17,000 respondents conducted between October and November 2022, we analysed a sub-sample of 4136 responses from female healthcare workers, across 14 Governorates. The main outcome of interest was vaccination status, (vaccinated, willing (but not yet vaccinated), unsure about vaccination and finally, those unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine). We present descriptive information about the sample and conduct a multivariate logistic regression analysis to shed light on some of the barriers preventing COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Results We find that the vast majority (93.7%) of female healthcare workers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose. We find that attitudes and beliefs around COVID-19 vaccines impact upon the decision to get a vaccination—positive attitudes around effectiveness and safety of the vaccines increase the likelihood of being vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated. More specifically, healthcare workers which believe in the safety of the vaccines are twice as likely to get vaccinated relative to those who don’t. By contrast, we find that neutral attitudes regarding the vaccines are associated with vaccine indecision among female healthcare workers. In addition, we also find that female healthcare workers tend to trust COVID-19 vaccine information from their peers—close to 99% of vaccinated female healthcare workers tend to trust the vaccine information received from their peers. Implications While the vaccination rates among healthcare workers are high, the results could further help in devising strategies for tackling the structural and individual barriers towards vaccine uptake among healthcare workers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a121689f35f248d6a99e4ab8f8a856ee |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1752-1505 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conflict and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-a121689f35f248d6a99e4ab8f8a856ee2025-08-24T11:33:07ZengBMCConflict and Health1752-15052025-08-0119111010.1186/s13031-025-00700-1Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional surveyZlatko Nikoloski0Elnur Aliyev1Robert Bain2Leonardo Menchini3Sahar Hegazi4Mai Zalkha5Shaza Mouawad6Neha Kapil7Amaya Gillespie8LSEUNICEF, Country OfficeUNICEF, MENA Regional OfficeUNICEF, Country OfficeUNICEF, Country OfficeUNICEF, Country OfficeUNICEF, Country OfficeUNICEF, MENA Regional OfficeUNICEFAbstract Background Healthcare workers play an important role in administering COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in conflict-affected settings. Syria has endured a protracted conflict for over a decade and while most of the healthcare workers in the country have been vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, vaccinating all of them would reduce their risk of COVID-19 complications, given their daily interactions with patients. Methods The goal of this study was to better understand the main barriers to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among female healthcare workers in Syria. Using data from a wider national survey of 17,000 respondents conducted between October and November 2022, we analysed a sub-sample of 4136 responses from female healthcare workers, across 14 Governorates. The main outcome of interest was vaccination status, (vaccinated, willing (but not yet vaccinated), unsure about vaccination and finally, those unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine). We present descriptive information about the sample and conduct a multivariate logistic regression analysis to shed light on some of the barriers preventing COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Results We find that the vast majority (93.7%) of female healthcare workers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose. We find that attitudes and beliefs around COVID-19 vaccines impact upon the decision to get a vaccination—positive attitudes around effectiveness and safety of the vaccines increase the likelihood of being vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated. More specifically, healthcare workers which believe in the safety of the vaccines are twice as likely to get vaccinated relative to those who don’t. By contrast, we find that neutral attitudes regarding the vaccines are associated with vaccine indecision among female healthcare workers. In addition, we also find that female healthcare workers tend to trust COVID-19 vaccine information from their peers—close to 99% of vaccinated female healthcare workers tend to trust the vaccine information received from their peers. Implications While the vaccination rates among healthcare workers are high, the results could further help in devising strategies for tackling the structural and individual barriers towards vaccine uptake among healthcare workers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-025-00700-1VaccinesSyriaCovidVaccine uptake |
| spellingShingle | Zlatko Nikoloski Elnur Aliyev Robert Bain Leonardo Menchini Sahar Hegazi Mai Zalkha Shaza Mouawad Neha Kapil Amaya Gillespie Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey Conflict and Health Vaccines Syria Covid Vaccine uptake |
| title | Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey |
| title_full | Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey |
| title_fullStr | Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey |
| title_short | Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in Syria: results from a 2022 cross-sectional survey |
| title_sort | uptake of covid 19 vaccine among female healthcare workers in syria results from a 2022 cross sectional survey |
| topic | Vaccines Syria Covid Vaccine uptake |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-025-00700-1 |
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