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What determines Hong Kong South Asians' perceptions on COVID‐19 vaccine? Implications on culturally appropriate vaccine messages for ethnic minority community
Author(s) -
Lai Angel Horyan,
Wang Johnson Zixin,
Singh Akansha,
Wong Eliza Laiyi,
Wang Kailu,
Yeoh EngKiong
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22920
Subject(s) - odds , ethnic group , socioeconomic status , logistic regression , medicine , vaccination , perception , covid-19 , demography , psychology , family medicine , environmental health , disease , sociology , immunology , population , neuroscience , anthropology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Guided by the behavioral model of health service use, this study examined the effect of South Asians' perceptions of healthcare, religious belief, and socioeconomic status on their perceived benefits and risks of COVID‐19 vaccines ( N = 245). Cross‐sectional survey was used. Logistic regressions results showed that higher levels of perceived involvement in South Asian community health and trust in the healthcare system were associated with higher odds of reporting perceived vaccine benefits. Permanent residents, students (vs. unemployed), and Pakistani (vs. Indians) also perceived the vaccine as beneficial. On the other hand, believing that the body was sacred and being Buddhist (vs. Hindu) were associated with higher odds of perceiving severe vaccination risk. Those who believed that God would cure COVID‐19 and those with higher education tended to perceive the vaccine as having a limited effect. Implications on designing culturally appropriate COVID‐19 vaccines messages in interethnic settings are discussed.