Perceived facilitators and barriers to intentions of receiving the COVID-19 vaccines among elderly Chinese adults

Authors

Tianen Chen, Department of Communication, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. Electronic address: tc447@cornell.edu.
Minhao Dai, Kennesaw State University
Shilin Xia, Department of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park, MA 20740, USA. Electronic address: sphxia37@umd.edu.

Department

School of Communication and Media

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-3-2022

Abstract

Elderly adults hold different beliefs regarding vaccination and are at higher risks for COVID-19 related illnesses and deaths. The current study aims to explore elderly (aged 65 or above) Chinese adults' intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the facilitators and barriers to vaccination intentions. We conducted in-depth interviews with 35 elderly adults in China through the lens of the integrative model of behavioral prediction. The results identified a number of facilitators, including convenience (both individual and collective), psychological and physiological wellbeing, collective wellbeing, supportive normative referents, and trust in the government, and some barriers, including vaccine ineffectiveness, side effects, safety, unsupportive normative referents, and the accessibility, affordability, and availability of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the results revealed participants' decision-making process: collective wellbeing and trust in the government overrode perceived barriers and perceived individual-level risks, which eventually overwhelmingly led to a high level of intentions to get vaccinated. Practical implications related to vaccine promotion and trust in the government were discussed.

Journal Title

Vaccine

Volume

40

Issue

1

First Page

100

Last Page

106

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.039