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Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Covid-19 Vaccine Among Older Adults in Ikwerre LGA, in Rivers State

Ogbonda-Nwozuzu Michael Chima, Anthony Ike Wegbom, Clement Kevin Edet

Abstract

Background: Older adults remain at increased risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and mortality from COVID-19, yet vaccine hesitancy persists in many low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria. Lack of knowledge, attitude, and perception toward the COVID-19 vaccine contribute significantly to vaccine refusal in older populations. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception of older adults toward the COVID-19 vaccine in Ikwerre Local Government Area , Rivers State, Nigeria. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 older adults aged 60 years and above residing in Ikwerre LGA from August 8th to September 24th 2024, using a well-structured questionnaire and analysed using Stata version 16. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize socio-demographic characteristics and analysis of variance test The ANOVA test was used to test for the association between KAP and socio- demographic factors and statistical significance was set at p-value ?0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 68.5 ± 5.4. The study found that half of the respondents (50.6%) had low knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, while (30.3%) demonstrated high knowledge. About two-thirds (70.7%) of the respondents had good attitude, while more than half (66.7%) had positive perceptions of the vaccine. The primary source of vaccine information was children (57%) followed by relatives (44.9%) and friends (40.0%).. Knowledge was significantly associated with education, occupation, and income (p<0.001), while marital status, living arrangement, income, and healthcare access were significantly associated with attitude and perception. Conclusion: The study revealed that most respondents expressed positive attitudes and perceptions toward COVID-19 vaccination, knowledge levels were generally low influenced by socio-demographic factors. Targeted health education and improved access to reliable vaccine information are essential to strengthen vaccine litera

Keywords

COVID-19Vaccine KnowledgeVaccine AttitudeVaccine PerceptionOlder AdultsRivers State

References

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