A knowledge and preventive approach to COVID-19 and vaccination acceptance among Afghan immigrants in Iran
International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
ISSN: 1747-9894
Article publication date: 22 December 2023
Issue publication date: 27 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the importance of knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) in communities toward COVID-19 and the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in the control of this disease, this study aims to evaluate and compare the KAP level toward COVID-19 and the acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccination between the Afghan immigrant population and Iranians
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2021 on Afghan immigrants, Afghan-neighboring Iranians and Afghan nonneighboring Iranians. Of the 885 people who participated in the survey, 295 from each group were randomly selected. Data collection tools were the following questionnaires: KAP toward COVID-19 and acceptance and attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination.
Findings
A total of 837 participants were included for data analysis. According to the findings, the KAP score on COVID-19 in Afghan immigrants was lower than the group of Iranians. Compared with Iranians, the score of nonneighboring Iranians was higher than the neighboring Iranians with Afghan immigrants. This difference in the mean scores suggests a statistically significant difference in the three groups (p < 0.0001). Among demographic data, the relationship between gender, education, type of job, income level and age with KAP indicated a significant difference in the total population studied. In the group of Afghan immigrants, the most likely reason for accepting the vaccination was the employer’s recommendation (55.63%). In comparison, the neighboring and nonneighboring Iranian groups with Afghan immigrants stated that they would receive the vaccine as soon as possible (49.22% and 63.22%, respectively).
Originality/value
Considering the low KAP score in the immigrant population in this study, these people are more vulnerable to the health and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19; therefore, the host countries have more challenges and responsibilities to protect these populations.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Also, all the participants in this study are kindly appreciated and acknowledged.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Authors’ contributions: M.G., S.M. and K.N. contributed equally to the design and implementation of the research, results analysis and manuscript writing. S.M., H.D.C. and S.R. contributed to the implementation and data acquisition of the research. All authors agree to be fully accountable for ensuring the study’s accuracy and have read and approved the final manuscript.
Since submision of this article, the following author has updated their affiliation: Mohsen Gholinataj Jelodar is at the Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran and Samaneh Mirzaei is at the Clinical Research Development Center, Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Citation
Gholinataj Jelodar, M., Rafieian, S., Nasiriani, K., Dehghan Chenari, H., Haji Maghsodi, M. and Mirzaei, S. (2024), "A knowledge and preventive approach to COVID-19 and vaccination acceptance among Afghan immigrants in Iran", International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 76-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-11-2023-0103
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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