“I Would Rather Take the Vaccine Than Undergo Weekly Testing”: Correlates of Health Workers’ Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Zubairu Iliyasu (), Rayyan M. Garba, Mansur A. Aliyu, Auwalu U. Gajida, Taiwo G. Amole, Amina A. Umar, Hadiza M. Abdullahi, Fatimah I. Tsiga-Ahmed, Aminatu A. Kwaku, Meira S. Kowalski, Hamisu M. Salihu and Muktar H. Aliyu
Additional contact information
Zubairu Iliyasu: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Rayyan M. Garba: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Mansur A. Aliyu: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Auwalu U. Gajida: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Taiwo G. Amole: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Amina A. Umar: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Hadiza M. Abdullahi: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Fatimah I. Tsiga-Ahmed: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Aminatu A. Kwaku: Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano PMB 3011, Nigeria
Meira S. Kowalski: Medicine, Health, and Society Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
Hamisu M. Salihu: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Muktar H. Aliyu: Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37203, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: This study examined the support for vaccine mandates and uptake among clinical and non-clinical staff at a tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria, focusing on variation of survey responses based on job position, socio-demographic characteristics, and perceived risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Using an explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods design and deploying a pragmatic paradigm, 370 healthcare workers were administered structured questionnaires. This was followed by in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of respondents to further clarify the responses regarding support for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine mandate. Findings demonstrated that less than one-half of respondents supported the COVID-19 mandate, and only one in three had received the recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses. Support for the vaccine mandate and vaccine uptake were predicted by profession, work experience, number of children, health status, and risk perception. Support for the vaccine mandate was ascribed to ethical and professional duty, whereas opposition was associated with respect for autonomy and human rights. This study documents the need to enhance support for vaccine mandates and uptake among healthcare workers through sustainable strategies, as Nigeria’s healthcare workers are considered a source of trust and role models for the rest of society.

Keywords: COVID-19 response; vaccine mandates; healthcare workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13937/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13937/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:13937-:d:954314

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().