Chinese University Students' Awareness and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Shirui Li; Zhihui Gao; Meihan Zhong; Zhujun Yu; Jianan Li; Haoran Bi

doi:10.2147/RMHP.S360274

Chinese University Students' Awareness and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2022 Apr 29:15:845-864. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S360274. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shirui Li¹, Zhihui Gao¹, Meihan Zhong¹, Zhujun Yu¹, Jianan Li², Haoran Bi^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biostatistics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
² Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
³ Center for Medical Statistics and Data Analysis, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Human Genetics and Environmental Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: The emergence of the mutant virus has exacerbated the COVID-19 epidemic, and vaccines remain an effective and viable means of resistance. As a socially influential young group, university students' awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine are crucial to achieving herd immunity. This study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among Chinese university students and identify possible factors associated with their awareness level and vaccine hesitancy.

Patients and methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese university students between 10 and 28 June 2021. We collected information on the demographic characteristics, awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, and influencing factors. Sleep disturbances and anxiety disorders were also evaluated. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results: Among the 721 participants (aged 18 to 23 years) with a female predominance (68.9%), 40.4% of cases exhibited moderate awareness the COVID-19 vaccine, and 87.4% of cases expressed high acceptance of the vaccine. Participants' awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with gender, ethnicity, region of residence, grade level, satisfaction with current state of pandemic control, the perceived likelihood of a COVID-19 pandemic rebound, the source number of COVID-19 information, concerns about differences in vaccine manufacturers, acceptance of current state-approved vaccines and insomnia level. Furthermore, age, preferred channels for vaccination and the acceptance of current state-approved vaccines were significantly associated with their acceptance of the vaccine.

Conclusion: This study reflected Chinese university students' high acceptance, but insufficient awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine, some students have insomnia and anxiety problems. These require the government to take measures such as individualized publicity and education, adding professional psychological counseling courses to improve the university students' awareness of vaccines and public health events, and comprehensively promote vaccination to cope with the ever-changing situation of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; mental health; university students; vaccine hesitancy.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Demonstration Center for Experimental Basic Medical Science Education (Xuzhou Medical University); the 2021 Jiangsu Province Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (grant number 202110313052Y); the Outstanding Talent Research Initiation Foundation of Xuzhou Medical University (grant numbers D2019043, D2019044); and the 2021 Medical Research Project of Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission (grant number Z2021012). The sponsors play no role in any of the stages from study design to submission of the manuscript for publication.