COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior of People Living with HIV: The Mediating Role of Perceived Risk and Vaccination Intention

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccination behavior of people living with HIV (PLWH) was examined via a cross-sectional web-based survey of PLWH aged 18 years and older. The survey was conducted from l May to 20 June 2021. The survey included social demographic information; vaccination behavior (B); and questions related to perceived usefulness (PU), perceived risk (PR), subjective norms (SNs), perceived behavior control (PBC), and behavior intention (BI). The associations between the questionnaire variables and COVID-19 vaccination behavior were assessed by calculating the descriptive data, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. In total, 43.71% of the 350 eligible respondents had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The differences in COVID-19 vaccination behavior according to age, gender, religious belief, marital status, income, education level, and occupation were not obvious (p > 0.05). PU had a significantly negative effect on PR (p < 0.05). PR had a significantly negative effect on BI (p < 0.05). SNs had a significantly positive effect on BI (p < 0.05). BI had a significantly positive effect on B (p < 0.05). PR fully mediated the effects of PU on BI, BI fully mediated the effects of PR on B, and BI fully mediated the effects of SNs on B (p < 0.05). Health policymakers and medical workers should provide more information about the risks of vaccine application to improve the vaccination behavior of PLWH.