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
. 2025 Apr 15;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1186/s40794-024-00240-1.

Perceptions, attitudes, practices, and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination among travelers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Harry César Kayembe  1 , Germain Kapour  2 , Papy Ansobi  2 , Aymen Jarboui  3 , Alexis Kalimba Bantu  3 , Glodi Elumbu  2 , Nicodème Nkutu  2 , Eric Mbuyi  2 , Abraham Moyo  2 , Vincent Mbatu  2 , Archilène Nto  2 , Marc Ngondu  2 , Benito Muhindo  2 , Serge Lukunku  2 , Orman Mboyolo  2 , Traoré Ibrahima Sory  3 , Didier Bompangue  2
Affiliations

Perceptions, attitudes, practices, and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination among travelers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Harry César Kayembe et al. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines. .

Abstract

Background: Vaccination against COVID-19 has been the primary public health measure implemented to limit the spread of the disease. However, there is still considerable scope for improvement in vaccine coverage, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. The factors influencing the acceptance or reluctance of the COVID-19 vaccine have been widely studied, but there is a gap in the literature with regard to dynamic populations, particularly travelers, who are one of the priority target groups for vaccination. This study assessed the perceptions, attitudes and practices regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, and explored factors associated with vaccination status among travelers.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at several points of entry (PoEs) selected for six survey sites (N'djili airport, Ngobila beach, Lufu, Boma, Moanda, and Kananga), located in three provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa, Kongo Central and Kasaï Central), from February 20 to March 05, 2023. The data were summarized and logistic regression models were performed to assess factors associated with vaccination status.

Results: A total of 2742 travelers were included in this survey. Of these, 54% had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that that several factors were significantly associated with vaccination status. These included age (under 60 years), marital status (single), occupation (other than healthcare worker), mode of travel (other than airplane), and poor perceptions of the vaccine. The most frequently cited reasons for vaccination among respondents who had received the vaccine were the prevention of COVID-19 infection and the ease of travel. In contrast, unvaccinated participants expressed greater concern about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, as well as vaccine-related side effects. Furthermore, travel disruption and inappropriate vaccination sites have been identified as significant obstacles to the acceptance of vaccination at the PoEs.

Conclusions: It is essential that awareness initiatives address concerns and misconceptions about vaccine safety and effectiveness. The influence of social media platforms may be harnessed for the dissemination of accurate information from the most trusted information sources, including healthcare professionals, to the target population. In addition, accompanying measures should be considered to facilitate vaccination compliance at different PoEs.

Keywords: Attitudes; COVID-19; Perceptions; Practices; Travelers; Vaccination status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethics approval for the study was obtained by the Ministry of Public Health’s National Health Research Ethics Committee (N°430/CNES/BN/PMMF/2023) in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All study participants provided verbal informed consent prior to completing data collection. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of provinces and survey sites selected for this study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ministère, de la Santé, Organisation Mondiale de la Santé. Epidémie de la maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) en République démocratique du Congo - Rapport de situation hebdo N° 09/2023 du 05/03/2023 | Données collectées du 27/02/2023 au 05/03/2023. 2023. https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/epidemie-de-la-ma...
    1. Nzaji MK, Kamenga J, de Lungayo D, Bene CL, Meyou ACM, Kapit SF. Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake and hesitancy among healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024;4(2):e0002772. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Otshudiema JO, Folefack GLT, Nsio JM, Mbala-Kingebeni P, Kakema CH, Kosianza JB, et al. Epidemiological comparison of four COVID-19 waves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 2020–January 2022. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022;12(3):316–27. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang H, Paulson KR, Pease SA, Watson S, Comfort H, Zheng P, et al. Estimating excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis of COVID-19-related mortality, 2020–21. Lancet. 2022;399(10334):1513–36. - PMC - PubMed
    1. UNICEF, La. RDC intensifie la vaccination des personnes hautement prioritaires contre la COVID-19 avec le soutien de l’ONU. 2023. https://www.unicef.org/drcongo/communiques-presse/rdc-intensifie-vaccina...

LinkOut - more resources