Intention to Pay for Vaccination and Influencing Factors of General Residents: A National Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: As an important part of the promotion of immunization programs and the suppression of infectious diseases, paid vaccines can prevent a variety of diseases and meet the needs of different populations. However, few studies focus on the public’s intention to pay for vaccination. Methods: The survey was conducted from 10 July to 15 September 2021, adopting a cross-sectional survey in China. We used a multi-stage sampling strategy to recruit participators from 120 cities. Participants filled out questions which assessed their intentions to pay for vaccination. A linear regression analysis was given to identify the predictors associated with the subjects’ attitudes. Results: There were 11,031 residents who finished our questionnaire. Chinese residents’ intention to receive paid vaccines scored 74.5 points. Residents who were male (β = −0.03) and older (30–44 (β = −0.03) or 45–59 (β = −0.06) or ≥60 (β = −0.08)), living alone (β = −0.03), who had moderate to severe anxiety (β = −0.03) or severe anxiety (β = −0.03) were more likely to refuse vaccination, while those who lived in Western China (β = 0.03) who had higher PSSS scores and HLS-SF12 index might acquire the intention to pay for vaccination. Conclusions: The study found that gender, age, region, living alone, anxiety, social support, and health literacy were the main influencing factors of residents’ attitudes. Governments and health institutions should take targeted measures to improve the health literacy and mental health of the population in order to facilitate the implementation of vaccination withdrawal and immunization policies.