University Students’ Vaccination Intention after the Fifth Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Hong Kong: Inspiration from a Health Belief Model

TL;DR

This study explores factors influencing university students in Hong Kong to get vaccinated against COVID-19, finding that perceived risk and past flu vaccination history are key predictors.

Contribution

The study applies the Health Belief Model to understand vaccination intentions among university students in Hong Kong, revealing new insights into effective public health strategies.

Findings

Perceived susceptibility significantly predicts vaccination intention (OR = 2.98).

Previous influenza vaccine uptake positively correlates with vaccination intention (OR = 1.54).

The vaccination lottery program did not significantly influence vaccination intention (OR = 0.87).

Abstract

The fifth wave of COVID-19, driven by the Omicron variant, started to surge in Hong Kong in December 2021. Previous studies have shown that younger adults, compared to older adults, are vulnerable to increased risks of side effects after vaccination. However, little is known about the COVID-19 vaccination behavior among younger adults, especially university students, in Hong Kong. Therefore, the present online survey study aimed to investigate the predictors of COVID-19 vaccination intention among university students in Hong Kong using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a framework. Two other potential predictors, the previous influenza vaccine uptake frequency and the Hong Kong SAR government vaccination lottery program, were also examined. The intention to receive another dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was low (36.4%). Multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographic and baseline characteristics, the perceived susceptibility (OR = 2.98, CI = 1.18–7.53) and previous influenza vaccine uptake frequency (OR = 1.54, CI = 1.08–2.19) significantly and positively predicted the COVID-19 vaccination intention. However, the government vaccination lottery program (i.e., wining prizes for being vaccinated) (OR = 0.87, CI = 0.34–2.26) was not a significant motivator of COVID-19 vaccination. Future public health campaigns should focus on the individual susceptibility to COVID-19 and past influenza vaccination history to promote increased vaccination uptake among university students.