ORIGINAL: Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Factors Influencing Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccine among Traders at Edaiken Market, Uselu, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

West Afr J Med . 2022 Apr 29;39(4):327-335.

Abstract

O E Obarisiagbon , N Mokogwu  Abstract  in English, French

Background and objectives: Vaccination is a criticaltool in the battle against COVID-19, and a public health necessity in combating the pandemic. Challenges in getting the public to accept the vaccine may be due to vaccine hesitancy which may be caused by poor knowledge, poor attitude, ethical issues and safety concerns. The study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and factors affecting the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine among traders at Edaiken market, Uselu, Benin City, Edo State.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 400 traders using multistage sampling technique in Benin City, Edo State. A forty-one-item questionnaire was utilized to collect data. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 25.0 and quantitative variables were expressed as frequencies, proportions, means and standard deviation. Level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: A higher proportion (35.2%) of respondents were aged between 20 - 29 years of age and almost three-quarters (74.0%) were females, while 48.7% were married. Almost one-third, 30% of the respondents had good knowledge of COVID-19 and 375 (93.8%) had poor knowledge regarding COVID-19 vaccine. One-fifth (20.8%) of respondents had a positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine and 90 (22.5%) respondents did not know where to get the vaccine.

Conclusion: Knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines was poor among the respondents, with most of them displaying a negative attitude to the vaccine. Knowledge of locations for obtaining vaccines was reported as a factor that would influence vaccine uptake. We recommend campaigns by public health authorities aimed at sensitizing the public about availability and importance of COVID-19 vaccine.

Keywords: Attitude; COVID-19 vaccines; Factors influencing vaccine uptake; Knowledge; Vaccine acceptability; Vaccine uptake.