Outcome Evaluation of Public Health Campaign on Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccine Among Health Science Students in Mwanza Region, Tanzania

Abstract

Introduction: Public Health Campaigns (PHC) are strategies used to increase the acceptability of an intervention. During COVID-19, similar campaigns were used to motivate the acceptability of vaccines among the Tanzanian population. This study intends to evaluate whether PHCs contribute to the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine among Health Science students.

Methods: This is a realistic evaluation conducted using an analytical cross-sectional survey among 580 undergraduate Health Science Students of the Catholic University of Health and Allied Science (CUHAS) in the Mwanza region. The collected data was analyzed using STATA version 18.0. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine among Health Science students. All the test statistics were performed at a 5% significant level.

Results: The prevalence of health science students receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was 24.4% (95% CI, 20.9%-28.2%). The PHC intervention was very effective at 72.9%. The information from the public health campaign helped students to understand that the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are expected and go away in a few days with AOR 1.72 (95% CI, 1.07-2.75, p-value=0.025).  The campaign also helped to increase belief in the COVID-19 vaccine with AOR 2.09 (95% CI, 1.09-3.99, p-value=0.026).

Conclusion: The study concludes that the Public Health Campaigns effectively communicated public health information to encourage Health Science students to overcome their reluctance and get vaccinated. However, vaccine hesitancy is more prevalent than acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among Health Science students. The study suggests that educational institutions and public health authorities need to take proactive measures to address vaccine hesitancy among Health Science students. This is important to ensure that future healthcare professionals are well-informed about the COVID-19 vaccine and can advocate for vaccination. They can be critical in promoting public health and countering vaccine misinformation within their communities.