Examination of Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals in Turkey towards Covid-19 Vaccines

Öz

Vaccination is an effective method for ensuring herd immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to expand the scope of vaccination, it is essential to vaccinate healthcare professionals and to guide society about vaccination. This study aims to examine the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards Covid-19 vaccines. The study data were collected with the Covid-19 Vaccine Attitude Scale. 420 health workers participated in the study. It has been determined that the vast majority of healthcare professionals are vaccinated, and they would prefer the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine if possible. It has been determined that healthcare professionals recommend vaccination, and at this point, physicians come to the fore the most. There are healthcare professionals who are not vaccinated and have doubts about the Covid-19 vaccine. It is recommended that studies be carried out to address the concerns of healthcare professionals who are suspicious of Covid-19 vaccines and avoid being vaccinated.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19
• Covid-19 Vaccine Attitude
• Covid-19 Anti-Vaccination
• Healthcare Professionals
• Turkey

Kaynakça

1. Aktekin, M. (2021). The Impact of Immunization Studies on the Covid-19 Outbreak, in Status of Covid-19 Vaccination and Immunization Services in Turkey During the New Coronavirus Pandemic Process. Turkish Medical Association-Status of Covid-19 Vaccination and Immunization Services in Turkey During the New Coronavirus Pandemic Process, 77-82.
2. Akyüz, S.S. (2020). Misinformation Outbreak: Fake News Circulation in Turkey During COVID-19 Pandemic. Mediterranean Journal of Communication, 34, 422-444.
3. Bovier, P. A., Chamot, E., Gallacchi, M. B., & Loutan, L. (2001). Importance of Patients’ Perceptions and General Practitioners’ Recommendations in Understanding Missed Opportunities for İmmunisations in Swiss Adults. Vaccine, 19(32), 4760-4767.
4. Dubé, E., Gagnon, D., Nickels, E., Jeram, S., & Schuster, M. (2014). Mapping Vaccine Hesitancy—Country-Specific Characteristics of A Global Phenomenon. Vaccine, 32(49), 6649-6654.
5. Ek, S., İlhanlı, H., & Kahraman, S. Ö. (2020). The Weak Ring of COVID-19: Elderly Population. Turkish Geographical Review, (76), 33-44.
6. Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. 5. Basım. SAGE Publications Ltd. Gürbüz, S., Aydın, S., & Çöl, M. (2021). Covid-19 Vaccine Studies and Applications. Turkish Medical Association-Status of Covid-19 Vaccination and Immunization Services in Turkey During the New Coronavirus Pandemic Process, 45-60.
7. Head, K. J., Kasting, M. L., Sturm, L. A., Hartsock, J. A., & Zimet, G. D. (2020). A National Survey Assessing SARS-Cov-2 Vaccination Intentions: Implications for Future Public Health Communication Efforts. Science Communication, 42(5), 698-723.
8. İzgüden, D., Akbolat, M., Bostan, S., & Erdem R. (2022). COVID-19 Vaccine Attitude Scale: Validity and Reliability Study: Methodological Study. Türkiye Klinikleri Journal of Health Sciences, 10.5336/healthsci.2021-86319. Karagöz, Y. (2017). SPSS and AMOS applied scientific research methods and publication ethics. Nobel Publication.

9. Kayış, A. (2005). Güvenilirlik Analizi, SPSS Uygulamalı Çok Değişkenli İstatistik Teknikleri. Kalaycı, Ş. (Ed. ), 5.Basım. Asil Yayınevi. Ankara.
10. Kurtuluş, Ş., & Can, R. (2021). What Do Health Care Professionals Think About Covid-19 Vaccine Applications: A University Example. Journal of Harran University Faculty of Medicine, 18(1), 29-34.
11. Li, M., Luo, Y., Watson, R., Zheng, Y., Ren, J., Tang, J., & Chen, Y. (2021). Healthcare workers’(HCWs) attitudes and related factors towards COVID-19 vaccination: A rapid systematic review. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 1-7.
12. Okyay, P. (2021). Emergency Use Approval. Turkish Medical Association-COVID-19 Pandemıc 10th Month Evaluatıon Report, 11-14.
13. Omer, S. B., Salmon, D. A., Orenstein, W. A., Dehart, M. P., & Halsey, N. (2009). Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and The Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(19), 1981-1988.
14. Polack, F. P., Thomas, S. J., Kitchin, N., Absalon, J., Gurtman, A., Lockhart, S., ... & Gruber, W. C. (2020). Safety and Efficacy of The BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(27): 2603-2615.
15. Randolph, H. E., & Barreiro, L. B. (2020). Herd Immunity: Understanding COVID-19. Immunity, 52(5), 737-741.
16. Sage Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. (2014). Report of the Sage Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy: https://www.asset-scienceinsociety.eu/sites/default/files/sage_working_group_revised_report_vaccine_hesitancy.pdf [24.12.2022].
17. T.R. Ministry of Health. (2021a). Covid-19 Vaccine Information Platform. COVID-19 Vaccine Production Technologies: https://covid19asi.saglik.gov.tr/TR-77709/covid-19-asisi-uretim-teknolojileri.html [15.07.2021].
18. T.R. Ministry of Health. (2021b). Covid-19 Vaccine Information Platform. COVID-19 Vaccine National Implementation Strategy: https://covid19asi.saglik.gov.tr/TR-77706/covid-19-asisi-ulusal-uygulama-stratejisi.html [15.07.2021].
19. Wang, J., Jing, R., Lai, X., Zhang, H., Lyu, Y., & Knoll, M. D. (2020). Acceptance of Covid-19 Vaccination During The Covid-19 Pandemic in China. Vaccines, 8, 482.
20. Weigel, M., Weitmann, K., Rautmann, C., Schmidt, J., Bruns, R., & Hoffmann, W. (2014). Impact of Physicians’ Attitude to Vaccination on Local Vaccination Coverage for Pertussis and Measles in Germany. The European Journal of Public Health, 24(6), 1009-1016.
21. WHO-World Health Organization. (2021a). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard: https://covid19.who.int/ [13.07.2021].
22. WHO-World Health Organization. (2021b). Ten Threats to Global Health in 2019: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019 [16.07.2021].
23. Verger, P., Scronias, D., Dauby, N., Adedzi, K. A., Gobert, C., Bergeat, M., Gagneur, A. & Dubé, E. (2021). Attitudes of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 vaccination: a survey in France and French-speaking parts of Belgium and Canada, 2020. Eurosurveillance, 26 (3), 1-8.
24. Yılmaz, H. İ., Turğut, B., Çıtlak, G., Mert, O., Paralı, B., Engin, M., Aktaş, A., & Alimoğlu, O. (2021). People's View of COVID-19 Vaccine in Turkey. Dicle Med J, 48 (3), 583-594.