Fear of Covid-19 and the Desire to Get Vaccinated Covid 19: The Mediating Role of Complacency and Perceived Effectiveness of the COVID-19 Vaccine

Identifying factors that reduce initial hesitancy toward vaccination and increase vaccine acceptance among the general public can aid ongoing efforts to vaccinate against Covid-19. This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between fear of covid-19 and desire to get vaccinated with the mediating role of Complacency and Perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Methods and Materials:

 The present study was a correlational descriptive study, and its statistical society consisted of all students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2022-2023. The number of sample members in this research was considered to be 300 people who were selected by cluster random sampling method. To collect the data, the scale of fear of covid-19, the scale of COVID-19 Vaccination Intention, the Complacency subscale of the 5C model and the Scale for evaluating the Perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine used. Data were analyzed using path analysis and SPSS-22 and Lisrel 8.8.

The age range of the subjects was between 18 and 30 years, with an average age of 21.75 and a standard deviation of age of 1.93. The research findings showed that there is the highest correlation between fear of covid-19 perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. This correlation was positive and significant ((p<0.01). In addition, the lowest correlation value was observed between fear of covid-19 and the desire to get vaccinated Covid-19. This correlation was also positive and significant (p<0.01). Also, the findings of the research showed that Complacency and perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine play a mediating role in the relationship between fear of covid-19 and the desire to get vaccinated Covid 19 (p<0.01).

These findings highlight the importance of understanding the role of predictors about covid-19 and psychosocial mediating mechanisms of antecedents based on the health belief model and the 5C model on willingness to get vaccinated. Based on this, complacency and perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine appeared as mediating psychological factors that affect the acceptance of the vaccine.