Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Uganda: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Allen Kabagenyi; Ronald Wasswa; Betty K Nannyonga; Evelyne B Nyachwo; Atek Kagirita; Juliet Nabirye; Leonard Atuhaire; Peter Waiswa

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S372386

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Uganda: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Int J Gen Med. 2022 Aug 27:15:6837-6847. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S372386. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Allen Kabagenyi¹, Ronald Wasswa², Betty K Nannyonga³, Evelyne B Nyachwo⁴, Atek Kagirita⁵, Juliet Nabirye⁴, Leonard Atuhaire⁶, Peter Waiswa⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Studies, School of Statistics & Planning, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
² Department of Statistical Methods and Actuarial Science, School of Statistics & Planning, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
³ Department of Mathematics, School of Natural Science, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁴ Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁵ Department of National Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda.
⁶ Department of Planning and Applied Statistics, School of Statistics & Planning, College of Business and Management Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Purpose: Vaccination toward coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been recommended and adopted as one of the measures of reducing the spread of this novel disease worldwide. Despite this, vaccine uptake among the Ugandan population has been low with reasons surrounding this being unknown. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 1042 adults in the districts of Mukono, Kiboga, Kumi, Soroti, Gulu, Amuru, Mbarara and Sheema from June to November 2021. Data were analyzed using STATA v.15. Barriers to vaccination were analyzed descriptively, while a binary logistic regression model was used to establish the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Results: Overall, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 58.6% (611). Respondents from urban areas and those in the eastern or northern region had increased odds of vaccine hesitancy. Further, higher education level and having knowledge on how COVID-19 is transmitted significantly reduced the odds of vaccine hesitancy. The study also noted individual perception such as COVID-19 kills only people with underlying medical conditions, as well as limited awareness on vaccine types or vaccination areas as the main reasons to vaccine hesitancy. Relatedly, other misconceptions like the ability of the vaccine to cause infertility, or spreading the virus into the body, and acknowledgment of alcohol as a possible cure were other reasons for vaccine hesitancy.

Conclusion: The proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is still high among the population with this varying across regions. This is driven by low education level and limited awareness on the vaccination as well as perceived myths and misconceptions. The study recommends mass sensitization of the population on the benefits of vaccination using various channels as well as rolling out community-based outreach vaccination campaigns across the country.

Keywords: COVID-19; Uganda; barriers; hesitancy; pandemic; vaccination.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Government of Uganda through the special COVID-19 funding to the Research and Innovations Fund (RIF) of Makerere University. The funder had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation of data and in writing of the manuscript.