Association between willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and sources of health information among Japanese workers: a cohort study.

Ko Hiraoka; Tomohisa Nagata; Takahiro Mori; Hajime Ando; Ayako Hino; Seiichiro Tateishi; Mayumi Tsuji; Shinya Matsuda; Yoshihisa Fujino

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Association between willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and sources of health information among Japanese workers: a cohort study.

Author: Ko HIRAOKA ¹ ; Tomohisa NAGATA ¹ ; Takahiro MORI ¹ ; Hajime ANDO ² ; Ayako HINO ³ ; Seiichiro TATEISHI ⁴ ; Mayumi TSUJI ⁵ ; Shinya MATSUDA ⁶ ; Yoshihisa FUJINO ⁷
Author Information

1. Department of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
2. Department of Work Systems and Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
3. Department of Mental Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
4. Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
5. Department of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
6. Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
7. Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: COVID-19; Infodemic; Pandemic; Sources of health information; Vaccine hesitancy; Workplace
MeSH: Adult; Aged; COVID-19/prevention & control*; COVID-19 Vaccines; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Influenza Vaccines; Japan; Middle Aged; Pandemics; Prospective Studies; Young Adult
From:Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 2022;27(0):2-2
CountryJapan
Language:English
Abstract: BACKGROUND:It is important to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating as many people as possible to end the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the relationship between willingness to receive vaccination and sources of health information among those who did not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
METHODS:This prospective cohort study collected data using a self-administered questionnaire survey. The baseline survey was conducted during December 22-25, 2020, and the follow-up survey during February 18-19, 2021. Participants were aged 20-65 years and worked at the time of the baseline survey (N = 33,087). After excluding 6,051 invalid responses, we included responses from 27,036 participants at baseline. In total, 19,941 people responded to the follow-up survey (74% follow-up rate). We excluded 7,415 participants who answered "yes" to the question "If a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, would you like to get it?" in the baseline survey. We finally analyzed 12,526 participants.
RESULTS:The odds ratio for change in willingness to be vaccinated from "no" to "yes" differed by source of health information. Compared with workers that used TV as a source of information, significantly fewer people who reported getting information from the Internet and friends/colleagues were willing to get the vaccine.
CONCLUSIONS:It is important to approach workers who do not watch TV when implementing workplace vaccination programs. It is likely that willingness to be vaccinated can be increased through an active company policy whereby the top management recommend vaccination, coupled with an individual approach by occupational health professionals.
TRIAL REGISTRATION:Not applicable.