Effect of Educational Sessions on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Pregnant Women

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Woman’s Health and Midwifery Nursing, Faculty of Nursing- Mansoura University, Egypt

2 Maternity, obstetrics, and Gynecology, Faculty of Nursing –Port Said University,

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy had been defined by The World Health Organization
(WHO) as one of the top ten global health threats since 2019. Vaccine hesitancy or refusal to accept
is a growing concern throughout the world, especially as new and deadly variants emerge. Aim: To
investigate the effect of educational sessions on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant
women. Study design: A quasi-experimental research design was used. Subjects: A purposive
sample of 159 pregnant women who attended the Antenatal Clinics of the Obstetric and
Gynecological Department at Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura city, Dakhalia governorate,
Egypt was studied. Three tools were used Structured interviews with a questionnaire assessed the
women’s general characteristics. The Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale was used to
assess the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale was used
to assess the COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs. Results: The results revealed that the total level
of vaccine hesitancy was significantly reduced from 25.8% (strongly hesitant) before the
educational sessions to 7.5% after the educational sessions. Also, the willingness to receive the
vaccine significantly increased from 11.9% before the educational sessions to 74.8% after the
educational sessions. Furthermore, the vaccine conspiracy beliefs significantly decreased from
59.7% before the educational sessions to 5.0% after the educational sessions. Conclusion: COVID-
19 educational sessions were an effective tool for decreasing the level of COVID-19 vaccine
hesitancy among pregnant women. Recommendation: Further research on correcting conspiracy
negative beliefs regarding COVID-19 vaccines, which correspond to a decrease in vaccine hesitancy
among pregnant women, is warranted.

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