Behavioral Intention and Its Predictors toward COVID-19 Booster Vaccination among Chinese Parents: Applying Two Behavioral Theories

Meng Zhou; Li Liu; Shu-Yan Gu; Xue-Qing Peng; Chi Zhang; Qi-Feng Wu; Xin-Peng Xu; Hua You

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127520

Behavioral Intention and Its Predictors toward COVID-19 Booster Vaccination among Chinese Parents: Applying Two Behavioral Theories

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 20;19(12):7520. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127520.

Authors

Meng Zhou¹, Li Liu², Shu-Yan Gu³, Xue-Qing Peng⁴, Chi Zhang¹, Qi-Feng Wu⁴, Xin-Peng Xu⁴, Hua You^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
² Section of School Health, Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210003, China.
³ Center for Health Policy and Management Studies, School of Government, Nanjing University, Nanjing 211166, China.
⁴ School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
⁵ Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.

Abstract

The booster vaccination of COVID-19 is being implemented in most parts of the world. This study used behavioral psychology to investigate the predictors of parents' intentions regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccination for their children. This is a cross-sectional study with a self-designed questionnaire based on two behavioral theories-protective motivation theory (PMT) and theory of planned behavior (TPB). A stratified multi-stage sampling procedure was conducted in Nanjing, China, and multivariable regression analyses were applied to examine the parents' intentions. The intention rate was 87.3%. The response efficacy (ORa = 2.238, 95% CI: 1.360-3.682) and response cost (ORa = 0.484, 95% CI: 0.319-0.732) in the PMT, were significant psychological predictors of parents' intentions, and so were the attitude (ORa = 2.619, 95% CI: 1.480-4.636) and behavioral control (ORa = 3.743, 95% CI: 2.165-6.471) in the TPB. The findings of crucial independent predictors in the PMT and TPB constructs inform the evidence-based formulation and implementation of strategies for booster vaccination in children.

Keywords: COVID-19 booster vaccination; children; protection motivation theory; theory of planned behavior; vaccination intention.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Child
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Intention*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vaccination

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) (No. 72074122), Cultivation Project of Decision-making Consultation, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Nanjing Medical University (JSHD2021052) and Jiangsu Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (20JD001).