Jaber, M A; Abdelmagied, M; El-Ameen, E M; Afrashtehfar, K I (2023). COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Ajman Undergraduate Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. International journal of dentistry, 2023, p. 3511960. 10.1155/2023/3511960
|
Text
3511960.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (625kB) | Preview |
BACKGROUND
Achieving widespread coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is crucial in controlling the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors associated with the willingness of dental medicine students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
OBJECTIVES
The study sought to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of undergraduate dental students toward COVID-19 vaccines and to identify determinants, motivators, and barriers to vaccine uptake and booster receipt.
METHODS
A web-based survey was distributed to all 882 undergraduate dental surgery students in January 2022, and 70.7% of the students responded. The survey used χ2 tests and logistic regression analysis to examine the association among the variables. The significance level was set at α = 0.05.
RESULTS
Most participants (72.4%) reported having adequate knowledge of COVID-19. The vaccine acceptance rate was higher among male and older trainees, with no significant difference compared to women and younger trainees with no significant difference (p = 0.849). Acceptance of the vaccine varied according to study level (5-year program), ranging from 44.8% to 73.0%, in the following order 4th > 1st > 3rd > 5th > 2nd year. Social media (76.8%), government websites (66.5%), and family and friends (57.2%) were the main sources of COVID-19-related information. Among hesitant and unwilling participants, the main concerns were side effects (34.0%) and lack of understanding about the vaccine's mechanism (67.3%).
CONCLUSIONS
Ajman dental students had moderate knowledge of COVID-19 and obtained information mainly from social media, government websites, and family and friends. Age, sex, and study year influenced vaccine acceptance. The main reasons for refusal were lack of knowledge, fear of side effects, and complications. Education campaigns are needed to increase vaccine acceptance among dental students.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > School of Dental Medicine > Department of Reconstructive Dentistry and Gerodontology |
UniBE Contributor: |
Afrashtehfar, Kelvin Ian |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health |
ISSN: |
1687-8728 |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pubmed Import |
Date Deposited: |
08 Jun 2023 12:20 |
Last Modified: |
11 Jun 2023 02:22 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1155/2023/3511960 |
PubMed ID: |
37284300 |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/183241 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/183241 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit item |