Revisiting Vaccine Hesitancy in Residential Care Homes for the Elderly for Pandemic Preparedness: A Lesson from COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Residents in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) are at high risk of severe illnesses and mortality, while staff have high exposure to intimate care activities. Addressing vaccine hesitancy is crucial to safeguard vaccine uptake in this vulnerable setting, especially amid a pandemic. In response to this, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to measure the level of vaccine hesitancy and to examine its associated factors among residents and staff in RCHEs in Hong Kong. We recruited residents and staff from 31 RCHEs in July-November 2022. Of 204 residents, 9.8% had a higher level of vaccine hesitancy (scored ≥ 4 out of 7, mean = 2.44). Around 7% of the staff (n = 168) showed higher vaccine hesitancy (mean = 2.45). From multi-level regression analyses, higher social loneline

SUBMITTER: Leung CLK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10675220 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature