Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr 30;82(1):60.
doi: 10.1186/s13690-024-01261-0.

Determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention in Central and Eastern Europe: A cross-sectional study in Poland, Romania, and Slovenia

Ana Slavec #  1 , Magdalena Iwanowska #  2 , Katarzyna Bałandynowicz-Panfil  3 , Șerban Olah  4 , Mojca Šoštarič Zvonar  5 , Janez Štebe  6 , Małgorzata Łosiewicz  7
Affiliations

Determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention in Central and Eastern Europe: A cross-sectional study in Poland, Romania, and Slovenia

Ana Slavec et al. Arch Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Identifying predictors of vaccination intention is critical to developing appropriate programs and campaigns targeting groups reluctant to be vaccinated. This study aimed to identify the determinants of vaccination intention at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in three Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: Poland, Romania, and Slovenia.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of unvaccinated 1723 Poles, Romanians, and Slovenians completed an online survey (April 2021). Questions included measures of vaccination intention, attitudes towards vaccines, conspiracy mindset, preference for a type of vaccine, and trust in information sources.

Results: The results showed that mistrust of vaccine benefits and concerns about commercial profiteering negatively predicted vaccination intention. Conversely, trust in information from medical professionals and scientists, official sources, and traditional media was positively related to vaccination intention, while trust in digital media was negatively related to vaccination intention. In addition, preference for mRNA vaccine type was a positive significant predictor of vaccination intention. The differences between countries are discussed.

Conclusions: The study results deliver suggestions for developing appropriate vaccine uptake programs and campaigns that should consider presenting the positive outcomes of vaccines via official sources and traditional media based on scientific evidence and medical professionals' knowledge.

Keywords: Attitudes towards vaccines; COVID-19; Central and Eastern Europe; Conspiracy mentality; Trust in information sources; Vaccination intention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The response distributions for vaccination intention in the Polish, Romanian, and Slovenian samples
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization.: WHO issues its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine and emphasizes need for equitable global access. https://www.who.int/news/item/31-12-2020-who-issues-its-first-emergency-... (2020). Accessed 13 Aug 2021.
    1. Sallam M. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide: a concise systematic review of vaccine acceptance rates. Vaccines. 2021;16(2):160. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9020160. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dubé E, Gagnon D, Nickels E, Jeram S, Schuster M. Mapping vaccine hesitancy–country-specific characteristics of a global phenomenon. Vaccine. 2014;32(49):6649–54. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.09.039. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Limbu YB, Rajesh KG. The determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention: a meta-review. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1162861. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1162861. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andre FE, Booy R, Bock HL, Clemens J, Datta SK, John TJ, et al. Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death and inequity worldwide. Bull World Health Organ. 2008;86(2):140–6. doi: 10.2471/blt.07.040089. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources