Behavioral Intention to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccination Among Chinese Factory Workers: Cross-sectional Online Survey

Background: COVID-19 vaccines will become available in China soon. Understanding communities' responses to the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines is important. We applied the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical framework. Objective: This study investigates the prevalence of and factors associated with behavioral intention to receive self-financed or free COVID-19 vaccinations among Chinese factory workers who resumed work during the pandemic. We examined the effects of factors including sociodemographics, perceptions related to COVID-19 vaccination, exposure to information about COVID-19 vaccination through social media, and COVID-19 preventive measures implemented by individuals and factories. Methods: Participants were full-time employees 18 years or older who worked in factories in Shenzhen. Factory workers in Shenzhen are required to receive a physical examination annually Eligible workers attending six physical examination sites were invited to complete a survey on September 1-7, 2020. Out of 2653 eligible factory workers, 2053 (77.4%) completed the online survey. Multivariate two-level logistic regression models and ordinal logistic regression models were fitted. Results: The prevalence of behavioral intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination was 66.6% (n=1368, conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and market rate) and 80.6% (n=1655, conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and free vaccines). After adjusting for significant background characteristics, positive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.20, 95% CI 1.15-1.25 and AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.19-1.30), perceived support from significant others for getting a COVID-19 vaccination (AOR 1.43, 95% CI 1.32-1.55 and AOR 1.37, 95% CI 1.25-1.50), and perceived behavioral control to get a COVID-19 vaccination (AOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.32-1.73 and AOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.09-1.51) were positively associated with both dependent variables (conditional on 80% vaccine efficacy and market rate or free vaccines, respectively). Regarding social media influence, higher frequency of exposure to positive information related to COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination at market rate (AOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.39-1.70) or a free vaccination (AOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.35-1.71). Higher self-reported compliance with wearing a face mask in the workplace (AOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02-1.58 and AOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.24-2.27) and other public spaces (AOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.42-2.29 and AOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.01-1.77), hand hygiene (AOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.00-1.47 and AOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19-1.93), and avoiding social gatherings (AOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.47 and AOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.23-1.95) and crowded places (AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51 and AOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.37-2.18) were also positively associated with both dependent variables. The number of COVID-19 preventive measures implemented by the factory was positively associated with the intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination under both scenarios (AOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12 and AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.11). Conclusions: Factory workers in China reported a high behavioral intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The theory of planned behavior is a useful framework to guide the development of future campaigns promoting COVID-19 vaccination.

Automated summary

This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with the intention to receive COVID-19 vaccinations among Chinese factory workers during the pandemic. The results showed that positive attitudes towards vaccination, support from significant others, perceived behavioral control, exposure to positive information through social media, and compliance with preventive measures were all positively associated with the intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.