COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance and informational needs in an Australian cancer population: a cross-sectional survey
Brighid Scanlon A B * , David Wyld A B C , Paul Firman A C , Midori Nakagaki A C , Jo Durham D , Glen Kennedy B E , Paul Moran E , Michael Smith B E and Nicole Gavin A B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Butterfield Street, Herston, Qld 4029, Australia.
B Queensland University of Technology, 149 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
C University of Queensland, 11 Wyndham Street, Herston, Qld 4006, Australia.
D School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, 149 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
E Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Butterfield Street, Herston, Qld 4029, Australia.
* Correspondence to: Brighid.scanlon@health.qld.gov.au
Australian Health Review 47(1) 110-118 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22142
Submitted: 1 March 2022 Accepted: 28 October 2022 Published: 8 December 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance, and unmet informational needs in a cancer population during the first phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rollout in Australia.
Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a large tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia, between 10 May and 31 July 2021. The survey assessed health beliefs, experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and informational needs.
Results COVID-19 was perceived to be a significant threat to both physical and mental health. While 57.9% (n = 110) of respondents believed the COVID-19 vaccines were safe and 64.2% (n = 122) believed they were effective, more than half (52.6%; n = 100) agreed that they worried about vaccine side effects. Most respondents (84.2%; n = 160) planned to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; however, feelings of hesitancy remained. There was a statistically significant association between those aged under 60 years (P = 0.003), those with previous vaccine hesitancy (P = 0.000), those who felt they had not received adequate information (P = 0.000) and vaccine hesitancy. Requested information pertained to interactions with cancer treatments, those with a history of blood clotting and information for those undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
Conclusions There is a need for tailored COVID-19 vaccine communication that is responsive to the concerns of people with cancer. This will be beneficial during current and future vaccination rollouts.
Keywords: cancer, communication, COVID-19, oncology, pandemic, vaccination, vaccine hesitancy.
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