Neighborhood social cohesion is associated with the willingness toward the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines among the Chinese older population

ABSTRACT

Neighborhood social cohesion is a prominent psychosocial factor during the pandemic, and trust in neighbors is critical for implementing health prevention-related behaviors with public health messages. We planned to specifically explore the association between neighborhood social cohesion and vaccine acceptability among older adults (≥60 years) in China. Using a random stratified sampling method, an anonymous cross-sectional online survey was conducted in mainland China via a professional scientific data platform from May 25 to June 8, 2022. A revised Social Cohesion Scale was applied to evaluate the level of neighborhood social cohesion. Of the 3,321 recruited respondents aged 60 and above, 82.8% (95% CI: 81.5–84.1) reported their willingness to be vaccinated. With all significant covariates adjusted, older adults with moderate (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.04–3.04) and high level of social cohesion (aOR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.29–3.77) were more likely to receive the booster dose. Our findings remained robust in a series of models after controlling for different covariates. Uncertainty about contraindications (38.3%), underestimation of their vulnerability (33.1%), and concerns about vaccine safety (32.0%) were the three main reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, building a harmonious community environment, strengthening neighborhood communication and exchange, and making good use of peer education among neighbors may become a breakthrough to promote herd immunity, especially for vulnerable older adults with limited social networks.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• vaccination
• booster dose
• old people
• neighborhood social cohesion

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the participants who enrolled in this study.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, C.Q., and J.L.; methodology and analysis, C.Q., and J.L.; visualization, C.Q., and W.Y.; writing-original draft preparation, C.Q.; review and editing, L.T., M.D., Y.W., and Q.L.; supervision, M.L., and J.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

All data in the study are available from the corresponding author by request.

Institutional review board statement

This study met the requirements of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University (IRB00001052-21126).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website at https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2022.2140530

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [72122001; 71934002; 72211540398], the National Statistical Science Research Project [2021LY038], the National R&D Key project [2021ZD0114101, 2021ZD0114104, 2021ZD0114105], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities supported by Global Center for Infectious Disease and Policy Research & Global Health and Infectious Diseases Group, of Peking University [grant number 202204], and the National Science and Technology Project on Development Assistance for Technology, Developing China-ASEAN Public Health Research and Development Collaborating Center [KY202101004]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the paper. No payment was received by any of the co-authors for the preparation of this article.