Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39143721›Full record

ArticleJournal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing2025

Profiling vaccine hesitancy in nursing to tailor public healthcare policies: A cross-sectional international study.

Jemma McCready, Goran Erfani, Dania Comparcini, Giancarlo Cicolini, Kristina Mikkonen, Jeremia Keisala, Marco Tomietto, Sigma IMPACT Research team

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Profiling vaccine hesitancy in nursing to tailor public healthcare policies: A cross-sectional international study.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jemma McCreadyDepartment of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9997-6956
Goran ErfaniDepartment of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8135-2846
Dania ComparciniSection of Nursing, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3622-6370
Giancarlo CicoliniDepartment of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, "Gabriele D'Annunzio" University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2736-1792
Kristina MikkonenMedical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-4355-3428
Jeremia KeisalaResearch Unit of Health Science and Technology Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Finland.
Marco TomiettoDepartment of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3813-1490
Sigma IMPACT Research team

Funding

Northumbria UniversitySigma Theta Tau International
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionVaccine hesitancy is a complex issue of global concern. As nurses play a vital role in delivering patient care and shaping public opinions on vaccines, interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in nursing are imperative. As such, identifying profiles of characteristics and attitudes contributing to hesitancy may help identify specific areas of focus to target tailored global vaccination uptake campaigns. The purpose of this study was to profile the characteristics and attitudes contributing to hesitancy toward COVID-19 and Influenza vaccines in the nursing community.

designThis multisite, cross-sectional study recruited 1967 registered nurses and 1230 nursing students from the United Kingdom, Finland, and Italy between March and September 2023.

methodsData collection involved an online survey adopting the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, and questions pertaining to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. A k-means cluster analysis was used to identify various clusters of hesitancy based on the VAX Scale. One-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were used to identify significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics, occupational factors, vaccination attitudes, and social media usage between the clusters.

resultsThree distinct clusters were identified. Profile A showed high vaccine confidence, profile B displayed slight hesitancy, and profile C reported high levels of hesitancy. In profile C, higher levels of vaccine hesitancy were identified in younger, less experienced nurses with lower educational attainment. While older nurses with higher educational attainment, who were in senior roles, were more vaccine-confident and had a consistent history of accepting the Influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations (profile A). The study found Italian nurses highly hesitant (profile C), British nurses highly confident (profile A), and Finnish nurses evenly distributed between confident, slightly hesitant, and highly hesitant (profiles A, B, and C, respectively). In addition, more frequent usage of Instagram and TikTok was associated with vaccine hesitancy (profiles B and C), and LinkedIn and X were more common among vaccine-confident individuals (profile A).

conclusionsThis study has identified specific sociodemographic and occupational factors that are related to vaccine hesitancy in an international sample of nurses. Additionally, attitudes contributing to hesitancy were identified, with worries about unforeseen future effects of the vaccine being identified as a critical attitude that may undermine confidence and increase hesitancy in nursing. This study also sheds light on the influence that social media platforms have on vaccine hesitancy and, as such, indicates which platforms are effective to disseminate vaccination campaigns to global nursing communities. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Global vaccination campaigns should focus on specific profiles and clusters to promote vaccination in the international nursing community. Empowering nurses early in their careers will help to instill positive vaccination behaviors, ensuring a sustained uptake of vaccinations throughout the individual's career and beyond, with an impact on promoting vaccination at the public health level as well.

Indexed as

Health PolicyStudents, NursingVaccinationVaccination HesitancyAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelCOVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleFinlandHumansInfluenza VaccinesItalyMaleMiddle AgedCOVID-19 VaccinesInfluenza VaccinesCOVID‐19influenzanursing communityprofilingvaccine hesitancy

Identifiers

PMID39143721
PMCPMC11931988

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.