Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas frente a la vacuna contra COVID-19 de los habitantes del cantón Cuenca- Ecuador en el año 2021

Abstract

Background: At the end of 2019 the outbreak of coronavirus caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. In Ecuador, until May 25, 2022, a total of 35,617 people have died. In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, bioinformatics tools have been used to create a vaccine whose target is efficient in providing a good immunogenicity profile and long-term protection. Objectives: To identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the COVID-19 vaccine of the inhabitants of Cuenca-Ecuador in 2021. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out, the International Citizen Project COVID-19 (ICP COVID-19) database was used, obtained through an online survey in February 2021. The universe consists of 914 participants. The data were processed with SPSS software. The results were presented in frequency and percentage tables. Results: 57,4% were women; 32,3% were between ages 20 and 24 years old, 71,8% resided in the urban area, 53,7% had low to medium incomes (53.7%), the 45,5% had reached the third level of education and 64,2% do not study or work in the health sector. The 63% trusted health professionals as a source of information. The majority of the population in this study has good attitudes (57.2%), low knowledge (54.8%), and bad practices (59.5%) toward the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. Conclusions: Female gender, not belonging to the health sector as a student or worker, and the source of reliable information influence the high knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine. Female gender, age, secondary education level, low socioeconomic level, and rural area of residence influence good attitudes towards the vaccine. The female gender and rural residence influence good practices regarding the vaccine.