ABSTRACT
Background: Since its first emergence in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the biggest public health threat on an international scale. Vaccination remains the first line of defence against the widespread of the virus. Objective: This study aimed to assess the socio-demographic association with knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards the different COVID-19 vaccines in the young Lebanese population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lebanon between January 24th to 31st, 2021. A total of 1350 respondents answered the questionnaire. Questions included four dimensions (11 related to socio-demographic characteristics, 22 knowledge questions, 5 attitude questions, and 5 related to the practices). One-way ANOVA was used to analyse the differences between the KAP variables and the socio-demographic variables. When significant differences were found (p-value < 0.05), Duncan's Multiple Range test was applied to determine the significant differences between the means. Results: The average knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines among our participants was 52.88%;52.81% showed good attitude toward the different types of vaccines, and 53.98% demonstrated good practices. The socio-demographic variables having a significant influence on the knowledge and practices towards the COVID-19 vaccines were the living place, the educational level, the school in which the students belong, the type of job (health-related or non-health related job), and the income range. The type of insurance that respondents have was significantly associated with practices but not with knowledge. Conclusion: This study showed significant differences in KAP among Lebanese people regarding COVID-19 vaccines, mainly affected by gender, education, work field, and income. Our findings reflect fair knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practices toward the COVID-19 vaccine among the Lebanese population. Consequently, the ministry of public health must work harder to disseminate, in higher frequency, more accurate information about the vaccines and organize more vaccination campaigns to increase trust level in the efficacy of the vaccine and decrease public hesitation. © 2023 Sakr et al.