Risk perception and hesitancy towards malaria vaccines among hospital pharmacists in southeast Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the hospital pharmacists.

Characteristics	ESUTH (n = 50)	UNTH (n = 137)	Total (n = 187)	P-value
n (%)
Age (n = 187)				.245
20–30	23 (19.8)	92 (79.3)	115 (100)
30–40	16 (45.7)	19 (54.3)	35 (100)
40–50	9 (32.1)	19 (67.9)	28 (100)
50–60	2 (40)	3 (60)	5 (100)
Above 60	0 (0.0)	4 (100)	4 (100)
Gender (n = 186)				.732
Female	32 (26.1)	91 (73.9)	123 (99.2)
Male	17 (27)	46 (73)	63 (100)
Monthly Income (n = 182)				.116
100,000–200,000	18 (17.5)	85 (82.5)	103 (100)
Above 200,000	21 (36.8)	36 (63.2)	57 (100)
Less than 100,000	10 (45.5)	12 (54.5)	22 (100)
Educational Level (n = 170)				.306
BPharm/PharmD	28 (21.5)	102 (78.5)	130 (100)
Postgraduate degree	20 (39.2)	31 (60.8)	51 (100)
Marital Status (n = 186)				<.001
Engaged	1 (25)	3 (75)	4 (100)
Married	26 (34.2)	50 (65.8)	76 (100)
Single	23 (21.7)	83 (78.3)	106 (100)
Religion (n = 185)				<.001
Christianity	50 (27.2)	134 (72.8)	184 (100)
Islam	0 (0.0)	1 (100)	1 (100)

P-values < 0.05 is significant.

Table 2. Participants’ family profile.

Clinical Characteristics	ESUTH (n = 50)	UNTH (n = 137)	Total (n = 187)	P-value
n (%)
Do you have (a) biological child/children? (n = 184)				.468
No	21 (20.6)	81 (79.4)	102 (100)
Yes	28 (34.1)	54 (65.9)	82 (100)
Have your child/children/ward less than 18 years been diagnosed with malaria in the last month? (n = 170)				.057
No	13 (21.3)	48 (78.7)	61 (100)
Not applicable	8 (16)	42 (84)	50 (100)
Yes	26 (44.1)	33 (55.9)	59 (100)
How concerned are you about your child/children less than 18 years contracting malaria? (n = 156)				.902
Extremely Concerned	21 (30.4)	48 (69.6)	69 (100)
Little concerned	4 (28.6)	10 (71.4)	14 (100)
Not concerned	3 (27.3)	8 (72.7)	11 (100)
Quite Concerned	17 (30.4)	39 (69.6)	56 (100)
The reason you consider your child/children less than 18 years at higher risk of contracting malaria? (n = 119)				.715
Not sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets	17 (25)	51 (75)	68 (100)
Not taking prophylaxis	9 (36)	16 (64)	25 (100)
Not using insect repellent	0 (0.0)	12 (100)	12 (100)
Staying in swampy areas	5 (35.7)	9 (64.3)	14 (100)

P-values < 0.05 are significant.

Table 3. Participants’ likelihood to accept the malaria vaccine.

Acceptability of the Vaccine	ESUTH (n = 50)	UNTH (n = 137)	Total (n = 187)	P-value
n (%)
Likelihood of allowing your child/children to be vaccinated with a malaria vaccine. (n = 170)				.252
Certainly	32 (34.8)	60 (65.2)	92 (100)
Definitely Not	5 (38.5)	8 (61.5)	13 (100)
Probably	10 (15.4)	55 (84.6)	65 (100)
Likelihood of recommending malaria vaccination to child/children of family members. (n = 179)				.65
Certainly	30 (31.3)	66 (68.8)	96 (100)
Definitely Not	5 (41.7)	7 (58.3)	12 (100)
Probably	13 (18.3)	58 (81.7)	71 (100)
Likelihood of recommending malaria vaccination to child/children of friends. (n = 177)				.702
Certainly	31 (32.6)	64 (67.4)	95 (100)
Definitely Not	4 (33.3)	8 (66.7)	12 (100)
Probably	13 (18.6)	57 (81.4)	70 (100)
Likelihood of recommending malaria vaccination to child/children of fellow healthcare professionals. (n = 178)				.544
Certainly	32 (33.7)	63 (66.3)	95 (100)
Definitely Not	4 (30.8)	9 (69.2)	13 (100)
Probably	13 (18.6)	57 (81.4)	70 (100)
Likelihood of recommending malaria vaccination to child/children of patients who seek professional advice. (n = 177)				.214
Certainly	33 (33.7)	65 (66.3)	98 (100)
Definitely Not	4 (44.4)	5 (55.6)	9 (100)
Probably	10 (14.3)	60 (85.7)	70 (100)

P-values < 0.05 are significant.

Table 4. Concerns about the use of malaria vaccines.

Concerns about the Malaria Vaccines	ESUTH (n = 50)	UNTH (n = 137)	Total (n = 187)	P-value
n (%)
Failure of the vaccine to protect against malaria. (n = 181)				.978
No	6 (20)	24 (80)	30 (100)
Not sure	17 (31.5)	37 (68.5)	54 (100)
Yes	25 (25.8)	72 (74.2)	97 (100)
Malaria infection from the vaccine. (n = 181)				.998
No	25 (28.1)	64 (71.9)	89 (100)
Not sure	12 (27.3)	32 (72.7)	44 (100)
Yes	11 (22.9)	37 (77.1)	48 (100)
Adverse effects following immunization. (n = 183)				.557
No	4 (11.8)	30 (88.2)	34 (100)
Not sure	12 (36.4)	21 (63.6)	33 (100)
Yes	33 (28.4)	83 (71.6)	116 (100)
The handling condition of the vaccine in Nigeria. (n = 180)				.729
No	6 (26.1)	17 (73.9)	23 (100)
Not sure	8 (47.1)	9 (52.9)	17 (100)
Yes	35 (25)	105 (75)	140 (100)
Is Malaria vaccination necessary? (n = 179)				.998
No	31 (26.1)	88 (73.9)	119 (100)
Not sure	12 (27.9)	31 (72.1)	43 (100)
Yes	4 (23.5)	13 (76.5)	17 (100)
Do you believe in vaccination? (n = 181)				.998
Yes	38 (26.4)	106 (73.6)	144 (100)
Not sure	4 (22.2)	14 (77.8)	18 (100)
No	6 (31.6)	13 (68.4)	19 (100)

P-values < 0.05 are significant.

Table 5. Association between demographics and the likelihood of allowing/recommending malaria vaccine to children or patients.

Variables	Likelihood of allowing vaccination for child/children					Likelihood of recommending vaccination to patients
	Definitely Not	Probably	Certainly	χ2(df)	P-value	Definitely Not	Probably	Certainly	χ2(df)	P-value
Gender				1.995(2)	0.369				2.438(2)	0.296
Male	2(15.4)	20(31.3)	32(34.8)			1(11.1)	23(33.3)	36(36.7)
Female	11(84.6)	44(68.8)	60(65.2)			8(88.9)	46(66.7)	62(63.3)
Marital status				4.227(4)	0.376				2.825(4)	0.588
Single	6(46.2)	35(53.8)	51(55.4)			3(33.3)	38(54.3)	57(58.8)
Engaged	0(0)	0(0)	4(4.3)			0(0)	2(2.9)	2(2.1)
Married	7(53.8)	30(46.2)	37(40.2)			6(66.7)	30(42.9)	38(39.2)
Educational level				2.098(2)	0.350				8.113(2)	0.017
BPharm/PharmD	7(53.8)	48(73.8)	60(69.0)			3(33.3)	54(78.3)	65(69.1)
Postgraduate degree	6(46.2)	17(26.2)	27(31.0)			6(66.7)	15(21.7)	29(30.9)
Age (Years)				9.205(8)	0.325				19.112(8)	0.014
20–30	5(38.5)	40(61.5)	55(59.8)			2(22.2)	43(61.4)	62(63.3)
30–40	6(46.2)	9(13.8)	19(20.7)			6(66.7)	13(18.6)	14(14.3)
40–50	1(7.7)	12(18.5)	14(15.2)			0(0)	10(14.3)	18(18.4)
50–60	1(7.7)	2(3.1)	2(2.2)			1(11.1)	2(2.9)	2(2.0)
Above 60	0(0)	2(3.1)	2(2.2)			0(0)	2(2.9)	2(2.0)

P-values < 0.05 are significant.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.