Health care workers' self-perceived infection risk and COVID-19 vaccine uptake: A mixed methods study

Kasusu Klint Nyamuryekung'e; Maryam Amour; Innocent Mboya; Harrieth Ndumwa; James Kengia; Belinda J Njiro; Lwidiko Mhamilawa; Elizabeth Shayo; Frida Ngalesoni; Ntuli Kapologwe; Albino Kalolo; Emmy Metta; Sia Msuya

doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0001223

Health care workers' self-perceived infection risk and COVID-19 vaccine uptake: A mixed methods study

PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Jun 7;3(6):e0001223. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001223. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Kasusu Klint Nyamuryekung'e¹, Maryam Amour², Innocent Mboya^{3

4}, Harrieth Ndumwa², James Kengia⁵, Belinda J Njiro², Lwidiko Mhamilawa^{6

7}, Elizabeth Shayo⁸, Frida Ngalesoni⁹, Ntuli Kapologwe⁵, Albino Kalolo¹⁰, Emmy Metta¹¹, Sia Msuya^{3

4

12}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
² Department of Community Health, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
⁴ Community Health Department, Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
⁵ Presidents Office Regional Administration and Local Government, Dodoma, Tanzania.
⁶ Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁷ Department of Women's and Children's Health, International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
⁸ National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁹ AMREF Health Africa in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
¹⁰ Department of Public Health, St. Francis University College of Health and Allied Sciences, Morogoro, Tanzania.
¹¹ Department of Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
¹² Department of Community Medicine, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania.

Abstract

Vaccination is the most cost-effective way of preventing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) although there was a considerable delay in its institution in Tanzania. This study assessed health care workers' (HCWs) self-perceived infection risk and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. A concurrent embedded, mixed methods design was utilized to collect data among HCWs in seven Tanzanian regions. Quantitative data was collected using a validated, pre-piloted, interviewer administered questionnaire whereas in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) gathered qualitative data. Descriptive analyses were performed while chi-square test and logistic regression were used to test for associations across categories. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. A total of 1,368 HCWs responded to the quantitative tool, 26 participated in the IDIs and 74 in FGDs. About half of the HCW (53.6%) reported to have been vaccinated and three quarters (75.5%) self-perceived to be at a high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection. High perceived infection risk was associated with increased COVID-19 vaccine uptake (OR 1.535). Participants perceived that the nature of their work and the working environment in the health facilities increased their infection risk. Limited availability and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was reported to elevate the perceived infection risks. Participants in the oldest age group and from low and mid-level health care facilities had higher proportions with a high-risk perception of acquiring COVID-19 infection. Only about half of the HCWs reported to be vaccinated albeit the majority recounted higher perception of risk to contracting COVID-19 due to their working environment, including limited availability and use of PPE. Efforts to address heightened perceived-risks should include improving the working environment, availability of PPE and continue updating HCWs on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine to limit their infection risks and consequent transmission to their patients and public.

Copyright: © 2023 Nyamuryekung’e et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Grants and funding

This research work was supported by grant from UNICEF (MA). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.