ABSTRACT
Background: As the number of COVID-19 cases grows worldwide, one solution to the global pandemic is vaccination. Unfortunately, the hesitancy of receiving vaccines is still high, particularly among younger age groups (eg, students). Because the hesitancy of receiving vaccines is an important issue, instruments have been developed to assess vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, the use of these instruments among specific groups such as students is of critical importance. Aim: The present study examined the psychometric properties of the nine-item MoVac-COVID19S (also known as the DrVac-COVID19S) including its measurement invariance among university students in three different countries (ie, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia). Methods: A multi-country, web-based cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 1809 university students, recruited from the three countries from May to September 2021. The nine-item scale was translated into Traditional Chinese, Bahasa Indonesian, and Malay. Results: The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the one-factor structure of the MoVac-COVID19S was fully supported among Indonesian and Malay participants (comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.991 and 0.998; Tucker-Lewis index [TLI] = 0.997 and 0.987; root mean sqaure error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.040 and 0.071; and standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.014 and 0.039). Moreover, the four-factor structure was supported among Indonesian, Malay, and Taiwanese participants (CFI = 0.998, 0.998, and 0.985; TLI = 0.997, 0.996, and 0.973; RMSEA = 0.044, 0.038, and 0.091; and SRMR = 0.013, 0.018, and 0.049). Conclusion: The MoVac-COVID19S has good construct validity among university students from three different countries (ie, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia). The four-factor structure of the MoVac-COVID19S was supported. Therefore, health-care providers may want to assess the four underlying constructs to better understand why a university student accepts or declines COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the three countries. Using the findings, government policymakers and health-care authorities can design appropriate programs to help decrease vaccine hesitancy.