Assessment of awareness about COVID-19 disease and vaccine uptake

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the awareness of individuals about coronavirus disease-2019 disease and vaccines during the pandemic. Method: The descriptive, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted at family health centres in the Bursa province between of Turkey from July 1 to 7, 2021. The face-to-face survey of registered individuals had 20 items that measured coronavirus disease-2019 and vaccines. The scale was named the Coronavirus Disease-2019 and Vaccine Awareness level. It was carried out by family physicians using an online weblink. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.87. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. Results: Of the 228 subjects, 129(56.6%) were males and 99(43.4%) were females. The overall mean age was 27.82±10.28 years. Awareness levels were high with a mean value of 2.41±0.31. Female participants were more aware than males (p=0.04) and those with monthly income between 2000-10000 Turkish lira had lower awareness level compared to other income groups (p=0.03). Marital status (p=0.32), education level (p=0.49) comorbidities (p=0.23), regular drug usage (p=0.13) and exercise status (p=0.24) did not affect the awareness levels. Non-smokers were more aware than the smokers (p=0.01). Conclusion: The level of awareness about coronavirus disease-2019 and its vaccine was higher in the female gender and non-smokers, it was lower in the middle-income group. Key Words: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 infection, Vaccination, Awareness, Survey.