Rural-Urban Disparities in Vaccine Hesitancy among Adults in South Tyrol, Italy

Abstract

Background: The demographic determinants of hesitancy in Coronavirus Disease—2019 (COVID-19) vaccination include rurality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In the second year of the pandemic, in South Tyrol, Italy, 15.6 percent of a representative adult sample reported hesitancy. Individual factors responsible for greater vaccination hesitancy in rural areas of central Europe are poorly understood. Methods: A cross-sectional survey on a probability-based sample of South Tyrol residents in March 2021 was analyzed. The questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, COVID-19-related experiences, conspiracy thinking, and the likelihood of accepting the national vaccination plan. A logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Among 1426 survey participants, 17.6% of the rural sample (n = 145/824) reported hesitancy with COVID-19 vaccination versus 12.8% (n = 77/602) in urban residents (p = 0.013). Rural residents were less likely to have post-secondary education, lived more frequently in households with children under six years of age, and their economic situation was worse than before the pandemic. Chronic diseases and deaths due to COVID-19 among close relatives were less frequently reported, and trust in pandemic management by national public health institutions was lower, as was trust in local authorities, civil protection, and local health services. Logistic regression models confirmed the most well-known predictors of hesitancy in both urban and rural populations; overall, residency was not an independent predictor. Conclusion: Several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas, which may explain the lower vaccine uptake in rural areas. Rurality is not a determinant of vaccine hesitancy in the economically well-developed North of Italy.