COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Nurses and Students Identified in New Study

Strategic Insights -

A study published in the Applied Nursing Research journal has identified key factors contributing to COVID-19 and influenza vaccine hesitancy among nurses and nursing students. The research, conducted between March and September 2023, involved an online survey of 604 participants and found that concerns about unforeseen future effects were the most relevant factor of vaccine hesitancy across all profiles. The study also found that influenza vaccination uptake was highest in the least hesitant profile, which also reported greater use of social media platforms. The findings provide insights for developing targeted interventions to address vaccine hesitancy and enhance vaccine uptake among nurses and nursing students.

Key Takeaways:

  • Concerns about unforeseen future effects were the most relevant factor of vaccine hesitancy across all profiles for both COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
  • The most hesitant profile included mainly older nurses.
  • Influenza vaccination uptake was the highest in the least hesitant profile, which also reported greater use of social media platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X.
  • K-means cluster analysis was performed to identify vaccine hesitancy profiles, and ANOVA and Chi-square tests were adopted to identify the key characteristics of the profiles.
  • The Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale were used to measure vaccine hesitancy and social media addiction, respectively.
  • The study found that social media had opposite effects on vaccine hesitancy, alongside several sociodemographic and professional characteristics.

Statistics:

  • 604 participants took part in the online survey.
  • 84 profiles were identified through K-means cluster analysis.
  • 70.4% of participants reported concerns about unforeseen future effects.
  • 65.3% of participants in the most hesitant profile reported concerns about unforeseen future effects.
  • The least hesitant profile reported higher influenza vaccination uptake (76.5%, compared to 63.2% in the most hesitant profile).

Sources:

  • Clustering Vaccine Hesitancy and Social Media Use of Nurses and Nursing Students: a Cross-sectional Study. Applied Nursing Research, 2025;84.
  • NewsRx. New COVID-19 Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at University of Oulu (Clustering Vaccine Hesitancy and Social Media Use of Nurses and Nursing Students: a Cross-sectional Study). Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA. August 10, 2025; p 100.