Abstract
Accurate information, knowledge, and risk perceptions can contribute to behavioral changes such as wearing masks, social distancing, and getting vaccinated, which are currently the ways to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. While many colleges and universities provide students with information related to COVID-19 from reliable sources, there is a high potential for misinformation and disinformation to spread through online sources and social media. Young adults more often use these forms of information gathering. The health belief model has been shown to have relevance to vaccine behavior. Some of the constructs in the Health Belief Model: perceived effectiveness of the vaccine, perceived risk of acquiring a disease, perceived barriers to vaccinations, and cues to actions, were found to be essential predictors of influenza vaccination acceptance rate. Understanding the level of COVID-19 knowledge and self-efficacy for preventive behavior among college students is crucial in stopping the spread of the disease. Students at an urban community college (males and females aged 18 to 65) were invited to participate in an online survey that utilized three constructs of the Health Belief Model: perceived susceptibility, COVID-19 knowledge, and self-efficacy to determine whether there is a link between these constructs and COVID-19 vaccine acceptability Though Covid-19 knowledge and self-efficacy for preventive behavior were high, only one-third of the respondents thought the vaccines and boosters were safe and felt comfortable getting vaccinated, lowering the population’s vaccine acceptability rate. Of the vaccinated students, seventy-five percent were influenced to get vaccinated by their friends and family members.
Presenters
Lisa Grace-LeitchDeputy Chair, Professor, Health Education, Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, United States Lesley Green-Rennis
Chair, Professor, Community and Public Health , CUNY-Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, United States Gloria McNamara
Associate Professor, Health Education Department, City University of New York - Borough of Manhattan Community College campus, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
COVID-19, COLLEGE STUDENTS, PREVENTIVE BEHAVIORS, SELF-EFFICACY, VACCINE ACCEPTABILITY
