1950. Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Reproductive-Aged Women in Jamaica


 
 
 Little is known about the factors which influence COVID-19 vaccine uptake among reproductive-aged women in Jamaica.
 
 
 
 We conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey of 192 reproductive-aged women in Jamaica from February 1- 8, 2022. Participants were recruited from a convenience sample of women (patients, providers and staff) at a tertiary care hospital whose demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1. We assessed self-reported COVID-19 vaccination status, vaccine confidence (defined as confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines and the system that delivers them) and medical mistrust beliefs (e.g., “I don’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine”). We conducted exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring and oblique equamax rotation on 22 survey items. Three factors were extracted which conceptually aligned with three subscales: lack of vaccine confidence, government-related COVID-19 medical mistrust, and race-based COVID-19 medical mistrust; we retained items with factor loadings > 0.40. The final subscale variables and their descriptive statistics are shown in Table 2. In addition, we used multivariable modified Poisson regression to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between vaccine uptake and pregnancy status adjusting for education and factors scores. Variables with a p value < 0.1 were retained in the final regression model.
 
 
 
 Of 192 respondents, 72(38%) were pregnant and 120 (62%) were non-pregnant. Pregnancy was negatively associated with vaccine uptake (aPR=0.70, 95%CI=0.51 - 0.96; p=0.029). Women with higher scores on the lack of vaccine confidence subscale (i.e., less confident in vaccine) were less likely to be vaccinated (aPR=0.72, 95%CI=0.61 - 0.86; p< 0.001). Government-related COVID-19 medical mistrust and race-based COVID-19 medical mistrust were not significantly associated with vaccine uptake (see Table 3).
 
 
 
 Findings suggest that pregnancy and lack of vaccine confidence are factors associated with lower vaccine uptake among reproductive-aged women in Jamaica. Bolstering vaccine confidence, through the use of evidence-based interventions, may help to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in this population.
 
 
 
 All Authors: No reported disclosures.
