Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Booster Dose Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) Among University Students: Cross-Sectional Study

Yousef Saeed Alqarni; Fahad T Alsulami; Farah Kais Alhomoud; Faten Alhomoud; Dhafer Alshayban; Khalid A Alamer; Bashayer Alshehail; Mohammed M Alsultan; Ahmed A Alanazi; Majed A Algarni; Haifa Abdulrahman Fadil

doi:10.3390/jcm13247610

Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Booster Dose Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) Among University Students: Cross-Sectional Study

J Clin Med. 2024 Dec 13;13(24):7610. doi: 10.3390/jcm13247610.

Affiliations

¹ Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University-Dammam-Eastern Province-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
² Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Pharmacy practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawarah 30078, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: COVID-19 has significantly impacted lives, and data show that receiving a booster vaccination has been demonstrated to lower the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the severity of the risk of infection. The Saudi government has actively promoted booster dose vaccines among university students who can spread the virus to older populations, especially in high-density environments, where the risk of virus transmission and spread is elevated. This study focuses on the acceptance of COVID-19 booster shots among students at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University. The study assessed students' willingness to receive a COVID-19 booster dose and the factors influencing their decision. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design using an online self-administered survey was conducted among medical and non-medical students at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University. A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit participants via email and social media platforms (WhatsApp version 2.3). Quantitative analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 28.0. using descriptive statistics. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict factors affecting COVID-19 booster dose acceptance and hesitancy. Results: Among 315 respondents, 171 (54.3%) were males, and 144 (45.7%) were females. All the respondents fell in the 18-25 years age group. About 173 (54.9%) respondents were from health-related colleges. Overall, 24.44% (77/315) agreed to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. However, 77.14% (243/315) were confident of getting the vaccine whenever they wanted. About 48.88% (154/315) of respondents considered COVID-19 a serious severe infection, while 14.06% (46/315) of respondents were concerned about the probability of receiving COVID-19 immunization (World Health Organization, 2021). Conclusions: The study revealed that students were not accepting COVID-19 booster doses, highlighting the need for awareness campaigns to dispel myths and improve vaccination rates.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Belief Model (HBM); attitudes; health knowledge; vaccination; willingness.

Grants and funding

The authors did not receive any financial support for this research, authorship, or the publication of this article. There is no funder, sponsor, or institution for this research.