Study of the psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccination among health workers in a Western Algeria

Context: Vaccine hesitancy is a major challenge in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, with healthcare professionals playing a major role in its acceptance. The objective of this study was to assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among health workers in Sidi Bel Abbès and to identify the psychological determinants of vaccination acceptance. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 01, 2021 to January 31, 2022 and involved health professionals in Sidi Bel Abbès, through an anonymous questionnaire. Psychological determinants were assessed using the 5C scale (15 items), whereas the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) (7 items) was used to estimate the effect of vaccine conspiracy beliefs. 5C and VCBS scores were analyzed using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: A total of 1074 health care workers were included in the final analysis: 74% were women, the median age of all participants was 31 years (IIQ: [27-39]) with a professional seniority of 7 years (IIQ: [3-12]). The overall acceptance rate for the COVID-19 vaccine was 41%. The determinants of acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine were the median age of 33 years (ORa=1.08; CI95% [1.03-1.14]), beliefs about the natural origin of the virus (ORa=1.68; CI95% [1.01-2.8]), collective responsibility (ORa=1.49; CI95% [1.28-1.73]), constraints (ORa=0.69; CI95% [0.61-0.78]) and complacency (ORa=1.31; CI95% [1.16 -1.49]). ROC analysis revealed that collective responsibility and constraints were the main predictors of vaccination decision among health workers. Conclusion: Targeting psychological determinants could improve the effectiveness of awareness campaigns on COVID-19 vaccines: Insist on the sense of collectivism of health professionals in order to achieve general immunity, reduce accessibility barriers to vaccination while paying particular attention to the elderly.