COVID-19 Testing, Vaccine Perceptions, and Trust among Hispanics Residing in an Underserved Community

Gabriel A. Frietze (), Bibiana M. Mancera and Michael J. Kenney
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Gabriel A. Frietze: Border Biomedical Research Center, College of Science, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Bibiana M. Mancera: Border Biomedical Research Center, College of Science, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Michael J. Kenney: Border Biomedical Research Center, College of Science, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: The Borderplex region has been profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Borderplex residents live in low socioeconomic (SES) neighborhoods and lack access to COVID-19 testing. The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to implement a COVID-19 testing program in the Borderplex region to increase the number of residents tested for COVID-19, and second, to administer a community survey to identify trusted sources of COVID-19 information and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake. A total of 4071 community members were tested for COVID-19, and 502 participants completed the survey. COVID-19 testing resulted in 66.8% ( n = 2718) positive cases. The community survey revealed that the most trusted sources of COVID-19 information were doctors or health care providers (67.7%), government websites (e.g., CDC, FDA, etc.) (41.8%), and the World Health Organization (37.8%). Logistic regression models revealed several statistically significant predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake such as having a trusted doctor or health care provider, perceiving the COVID-19 vaccine to be effective, and perceiving that the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause side-effects. Findings from the current study highlight the need for utilizing an integrated, multifactorial approach to increase COVID-19 testing and to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake in underserved communities.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hispanics; trust; vaccine uptake; perceived effectiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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