Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and intention to get vaccinated in Western Balkans: cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Introduction of vaccines against COVID-19 has not encountered expected acceptance. The uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Western Balkans countries is lagging behind the European Union average. The aim of our study was to assess the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the population of unvaccinated adult citizens of five Western Balkans countries, and to explore factors that influence the vaccination intention. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was conducted in the period from July to October 2021. The questionnaire was shared through online social media. Intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was measured by a single item assessing the likelihood of getting vaccinated on a 5-points Likert scale. Linear regressions were conducted with socio-demographic characteristics, presence of chronic diseases and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination as independent factors. RESULTS: The largest proportion of unvaccinated respondents willing to get vaccinated in the future was observed in Montenegro and Albania (40.4% in each country), while in the Serbian sample, the willingness to get vaccinated was the lowest (22.6%). Socio-demographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in most of the countries. In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia the strongest determinant of COVID-19 vaccination intention was the higher sense of social responsibility. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination interventions and campaigns aiming to improve the COVID-19 vaccine uptake should be focussed on specific set of factors in each country, appealing to social responsibility as most prevalent determinant of vaccination intention in Western Balkans.

Societal Trust Related to COVID-19 Vaccination: Evidence from Western Balkans

The lower rates of COVID-19 vaccination in Western Balkans countries could be partially explained by societal distrust of its citizens, jeopardizing the sustainability of COVID-19 vaccination programs. The aim of the study was to determine the level and predictors of societal trust in five countries of the region. Using an online questionnaire, data were obtained from 1157 respondents from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The instrument included a socio-demographic questionnaire, a measure of vaccination behavior, and a scale measuring societal trust. Being a significant determinant of the COVID-19 vaccination behavior in all countries, societal trust considerably varied from country to country (F (24, 4002) = 7.574, p < 0.001). It was highest in North Macedonia (Mean = 3.74, SD = 0.99), and lowest in Albania (Mean = 3.21, SD = 1.03). Younger, female, less religious, and higher educated tended to have more pronounced societal trust in Serbia. In North Macedonia, younger age and lower health literacy predicted societal trust, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, educational level was the single predictor. In Montenegro and Albania, higher societal trust was significantly predicted by lower health literacy only. The results provide evidence that the determinants of societal trust in Western Balkans vary across countries, indicating the need for different approaches in communication campaigns.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices and fear of COVID-19 among medical students in Serbia.

INTRODUCTION: The outbreak of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 named COVID-19 has spread throughout the world. The number of registered cases is increasing and almost no country or territory worldwide has been without any COVID-19 patient. The aim of this study was to examine the level of knowledge on the SARS-COv-2 and COVID-19 among medical students and to explore the differences in attitudes, practices and fear of COVID-19 among students with sufficient and students with insufficient knowledge. METHODOLOGY: The cross-sectional study among the 1,722 medical students was conducted through an online platform of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. The instrument used was a questionnaire with sections on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 and the Fear of COVID-19 scale. RESULTS: Total of 1576 (91.50%) students were in the sufficient knowledge group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant association between the sufficient knowledge on COVID-19 and female sex (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.18-2.45), age (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02-1.18), considering the preventive measures enforced in Serbia as good (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.18-5.56), wearing the surgical mask outside of the household in the past 14 days (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.22-2.87) and score on Fear of COVID-19 scale (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.91-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Medical students showed good knowledge of COVID-19 and could be a part of the promotion of health education messages as a part of preventive measures.