Centre for Health Systems Research & Development

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Browsing Centre for Health Systems Research & Development by Subject "COVID-19"

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    COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in South Africa: lessons for future pandemics
    (MDPI, 2022) Engelbrecht, Michelle; Heunis, Christo; Kigozi, Gladys
    Vaccine hesitancy, long considered a global health threat, poses a major barrier to effective roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination. With less than half (45%) of adult South Africans currently fully vaccinated, we identified factors affecting non-uptake of vaccination and vaccine hesitancy in order to identify key groups to be targeted when embarking upon COVID-19 vaccine promotion campaigns. A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was undertaken among the South African adult population in September 2021. Our research identified race, interactive–critical vaccine literacy, trust in the government’s ability to roll out the COVID-19 vaccination programme, flu vaccination status and risk perception for COVID-19 infection as key factors influencing the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination. Respondents who did not trust in the government’s ability to roll out vaccination were almost 13 times more likely to be vaccine-hesitant compared to those respondents who did trust the government. Reliable, easy-to-understand information regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is needed, but it is also important that vaccination promotion and communication strategies include broader trust-building measures to enhance South Africans’ trust in the government’s ability to roll out vaccination effectively and safely. This may also be the case in other countries where distrust in governments’ ability prevails.
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    Factors associated with limited vaccine literacy: lessons learnt from COVID-19
    (MDPI, 2022) Engelbrecht, Michelle C.; Kigozi, N. Gladys; Heunis, J. Christo
    Compared to many other developed countries, South Africa has a lower uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations. Although not widely researched, there is evidence that vaccine literacy (VL) is positively associated with vaccination uptake. Therefore, this study aimed to assess levels of VL among the adult population in South Africa, as well as to identify factors associated with limited VL. A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted during September 2021. The survey, which included the standardized Health Literacy about Vaccination in adulthood (HLVa) Scale, was widely advertised, yielding a total of 10,466 respondents. The average scores for the two HLVa sub-scales were relatively high: functional (M = 2.841, SD 0.799) and interactive-critical (M = 3.331, SD 0.559) VL. A proposed ‘limited’ VL score (score value ≤ 2.50) was observed in 40% of respondents for functional literacy and 8.2% of respondents for interactive-critical literacy. The main factors associated with limited VL included lower levels of education, lower socio-economic status, not being vaccinated against COVID-19, self-identifying as Black/African or Colored (i.e., people of mixed ethnic descent), having poorer health, and being a woman. The significant association between VL and vaccination uptake provides an impetus for policy makers such as the South African Department of Health to promote VL in the attempt to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake.
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    Post-traumatic stress and coping strategies of South African nurses during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
    (MDPI, 2021) Engelbrecht, Michelle C.; Heunis, J. Christo; Kigoze, N. Gladys
    Prior to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the South African healthcare system was already under severe strain due to amongst others, a lack of human resources, poor governance and management, and an unequal distribution of resources among provinces and between the public and private healthcare sectors. At the center of these challenges are nurses, the backbone of the healthcare system, and the first point of call for most patients in the country. This research investigated post-traumatic stress and coping strategies of nurses during the second wave of COVID-19 in the country. A structured self-administered questionnaire captured the biographic characteristics, perceived risk factors for COVID-19, and views on infection control of 286 nurses Data were subjected to descriptive and binomial logistic regression analyses. More than four in every 10 nurses screened positive for higher levels of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD). Self-reported risk for contracting COVID-19 mainly centered on being a health worker and patients’ non-adherence to infection prevention guidelines. Unpreparedness to manage COVID-19 patients, poorer health, and avoidant coping were associated with PTSD. Nurses voiced a need for emotional support and empathy from managers. Emotional, psychological, and debriefing intervention sessions that focus on positive coping strategies to actively address stress are recommended.