Determining factors for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Brazilians: a study using structural equation modeling.
Emerson Lucas Silva Camargo, Álvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa, Anderson Sousa Dos Reis and 4 others
PMID 39230099WHAT IT FOUND
Before Brazil's vaccination campaign, 27.5% of surveyed adults reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Conspiracy beliefs, not individual pandemic responses, predicted hesitancy; trust in government was linked to lower hesitancy.
Key findings
01Vaccine hesitancy was observed in 27.5% of the population, specifically 1182 individuals.
02In the model, only conspiracy beliefs had significant predictive value for vaccination intentions; individual responses to COVID-19 were not statistically significant, except when linked to conspiracy beliefs.
03The model reported governmental beliefs as negatively correlated with vaccine hesitancy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only people with internet access and digital literacy could participate, so the sample may not represent all Brazilians. The online snowball sampling can make responses more similar within networks and limits generalizability. Answers were self-reported and may reflect social desirability. The survey captured attitudes before vaccination began, so it may not reflect later attitudes. The paper does not state the final number of adults analysed; it only states the minimum required sample.
Declared interests
The work was supported by CAPES, Financing Code 001. The supplied text does not report other author conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the model as showing that conspiracy beliefs cause vaccine hesitancy or that nurse-led counselling will reduce it. This was an online survey of public attitudes before vaccination, so it reports associations, not tested effects.