Cross sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practice among general population towards COVID19 vaccines in Duhok province, Kurdistan region of Iraq

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundVaccines are immunization against diseases and leads to saving millions of lives every year. However, after the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, little information is available on the public knowledge and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines in Kurdistan-Iraq.AimThis study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice toward the COVID-19 vaccines among general population at Duhok province, Kurdistan region, Iraq.MethodsThe cross-sectional study was done between November 1st, 2022 and march 1st, 2023 at Duhok province, Kurdistan region, Iraq including Duhok City, Zakho, Semel and surrounding area) toward COVID-19 vaccines. It included 759 randomly selected participants answering a structured questionnaire who were interviewed face-to-face by the authors. The participants ages ranged from 18 to 75 years. The survey questionnaire was divided into three parts, the first part was sociodemographic characteristics. The second part was composed of eight questions of knowledge regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and third part was 6 statements about Attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines.FindingsThe mean age of the respondents was 32.95 years (SD±12) and more than half of them (52.3%) were males. About 55% of the respondents reported that they had infected with COVID-19. About 25.3% of the subjects were employed and only 18.3% had chronic diseases. Around 55% of the participants reported that they have previously infected with COVID-19. The majority of the participants (99.60%) had heard of COVID-19 vaccine, almost (68%) of the participants trusted COVID-19 vaccine and reported that the vaccine is safe. Almost three-quarters (74.04%) of the participants were strongly agreed that it is important to get a vaccine to protect the people from COVID-19. According to the survey results, a significant proportion of the participants, specifically 62.58%, believed that COVID-19 vaccines offer protection against the disease. It was notable that a high percentage of the participants, approximately 86.17%, were aware of the potential side effects associated with the vaccine. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of the participants, nearly 96.31%, were knowledgeable that the vaccination process would require two or more doses.ConclusionsThe history of chronic disease, source of vaccine knowledge, education level, occupation, and employment states were factors that affected the willingness to accept the vaccine. The most trusted sources of information on COVID-19 vaccines were social media. Therefore, the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine can be supported by utilizing social media and television to spread awareness about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.