Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021

Kim Lavoie; Vincent Gosselin-Boucher; Jovana Stojanovic; Samir Gupta; Myriam Gagné; Keven Joyal-Desmarais; Katherine Séguin; Sherri Sheinfeld Gorin; Paula Ribeiro; Brigitte Voisard; Michael Vallis; Kimberly Corace; Justin Presseau; Simon Bacon

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411

Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021

Kim Lavoie, Vincent Gosselin-Boucher, Jovana Stojanovic, Samir Gupta, Myriam Gagné, Keven Joyal-Desmarais, Katherine Séguin, Sherri Sheinfeld Gorin, Paula Ribeiro, Brigitte Voisard, Michael Vallis, Kimberly Corace, Justin Presseau, Simon Bacon

Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective To examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021. Design Five sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys. Setting Canada. Participants A total of 15 019 Canadians aged 18 years and over were recruited through a recognised polling firm (Leger Opinion). Respondents were 51.5% female with a mean age of 48.1 (SD 17.2) years (range 18-95 years) and predominantly white (80.8%). Primary and secondary outcome measures Rates of vaccine hesitancy over the five surveys (time points) and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates. Results A total of 42.2% of respondents reported some degree of vaccine hesitancy, which was lowest during surveys 1 (April 2020) and 5 (March 2021) and highest during survey 3 (November 2020). Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that women, those aged 50 and younger, non-white, those with high school education or less, and those with annual household incomes below the poverty line in Canada were significantly more likely to report vaccine hesitancy, as were essential and healthcare workers, parents of children under the age of 18 and those who do not get regular influenza vaccines. Endorsing prevention behaviours as important for reducing virus transmission and high COVID-19 health concerns were associated with 77% and 54% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, respectively. Having high personal financial concerns was associated with 1.33 times increased odds of vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of targeting vaccine efforts to specific groups by emphasising the outsized health benefits compared with risks of vaccination. Future research should monitor changes in vaccine intentions and behaviour to better understand underlying factors.

Original language	English
Article number	e059411
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	12
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411
Publication status	Published - Apr 5 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
1Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada 2Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, CIUSSS-NIM Research Centre, Montreal, Québec, Canada 3Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada 4Keenan Research Center, St Michael's Hospital Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5Medicine, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 7Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, Montreal, Québec, Canada 8Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 9Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 10Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 11Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 12School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Acknowledgements We acknowledge the support from our Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation Team, particularly administrative support by Mr Guillaume Lacoste and Dr Genevieve Szczepanik; web, graphics and technical support from Johanne O’Malley (Wordcrafting); and analytical support by Ms Mariam Atoui and Dr Julian Esse Atto.

Funding Information:
Funding The International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation (iCARE) study is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR: MM1-174903; MS3-173099; SMC-151518), the Canada Research Chairs Program (950-232522, Chair holder: Dr. Kim L. Lavoie), the Fonds de recherche du Québec -santé (FRQ-S: 251618 and 34757), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC: 2019-SE1-252541), and the Ministère de l'Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec (2020-2022-COVID-19-PSOv2a-51754). Study sponsors had no role in the design of the database and data collection.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

General Medicine

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411

Cite this

Lavoie, K., Gosselin-Boucher, V., Stojanovic, J., Gupta, S., Gagné, M., Joyal-Desmarais, K., Séguin, K., Gorin, S. S., Ribeiro, P., Voisard, B., Vallis, M., Corace, K., Presseau, J., & Bacon, S. (2022). Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021. BMJ Open, 12(4), Article e059411. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411

Lavoie, K, Gosselin-Boucher, V, Stojanovic, J, Gupta, S, Gagné, M, Joyal-Desmarais, K, Séguin, K, Gorin, SS, Ribeiro, P, Voisard, B, Vallis, M, Corace, K, Presseau, J & Bacon, S 2022, 'Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021', BMJ Open, vol. 12, no. 4, e059411. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411

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title = "Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021",

abstract = "Objective To examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021. Design Five sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys. Setting Canada. Participants A total of 15 019 Canadians aged 18 years and over were recruited through a recognised polling firm (Leger Opinion). Respondents were 51.5% female with a mean age of 48.1 (SD 17.2) years (range 18-95 years) and predominantly white (80.8%). Primary and secondary outcome measures Rates of vaccine hesitancy over the five surveys (time points) and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates. Results A total of 42.2% of respondents reported some degree of vaccine hesitancy, which was lowest during surveys 1 (April 2020) and 5 (March 2021) and highest during survey 3 (November 2020). Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that women, those aged 50 and younger, non-white, those with high school education or less, and those with annual household incomes below the poverty line in Canada were significantly more likely to report vaccine hesitancy, as were essential and healthcare workers, parents of children under the age of 18 and those who do not get regular influenza vaccines. Endorsing prevention behaviours as important for reducing virus transmission and high COVID-19 health concerns were associated with 77% and 54% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, respectively. Having high personal financial concerns was associated with 1.33 times increased odds of vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of targeting vaccine efforts to specific groups by emphasising the outsized health benefits compared with risks of vaccination. Future research should monitor changes in vaccine intentions and behaviour to better understand underlying factors. ",

author = "Kim Lavoie and Vincent Gosselin-Boucher and Jovana Stojanovic and Samir Gupta and Myriam Gagn{\'e} and Keven Joyal-Desmarais and Katherine S{\'e}guin and Gorin, {Sherri Sheinfeld} and Paula Ribeiro and Brigitte Voisard and Michael Vallis and Kimberly Corace and Justin Presseau and Simon Bacon",

note = "Funding Information: 1Psychology, Universit{\'e} du Qu{\'e}bec {\`a} Montr{\'e}al, Montreal, Qu{\'e}bec, Canada 2Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, CIUSSS-NIM Research Centre, Montreal, Qu{\'e}bec, Canada 3Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Qu{\'e}bec, Canada 4Keenan Research Center, St Michael's Hospital Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5Medicine, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 7Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, Montreal, Qu{\'e}bec, Canada 8Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 9Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 10Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 11Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 12School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Acknowledgements We acknowledge the support from our Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation Team, particularly administrative support by Mr Guillaume Lacoste and Dr Genevieve Szczepanik; web, graphics and technical support from Johanne O{\textquoteright}Malley (Wordcrafting); and analytical support by Ms Mariam Atoui and Dr Julian Esse Atto. Funding Information: Funding The International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation (iCARE) study is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR: MM1-174903; MS3-173099; SMC-151518), the Canada Research Chairs Program (950-232522, Chair holder: Dr. Kim L. Lavoie), the Fonds de recherche du Qu{\'e}bec -sant{\'e} (FRQ-S: 251618 and 34757), the Fonds de recherche du Qu{\'e}bec – Soci{\'e}t{\'e} et culture (FRQSC: 2019-SE1-252541), and the Minist{\`e}re de l'{\'E}conomie et de l{\textquoteright}Innovation du Qu{\'e}bec (2020-2022-COVID-19-PSOv2a-51754). Study sponsors had no role in the design of the database and data collection. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.",

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day = "5",

doi = "10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411",

language = "English",

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T1 - Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada

T2 - Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021

AU - Lavoie, Kim

AU - Gosselin-Boucher, Vincent

AU - Stojanovic, Jovana

AU - Gupta, Samir

AU - Gagné, Myriam

AU - Joyal-Desmarais, Keven

AU - Séguin, Katherine

AU - Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld

AU - Ribeiro, Paula

AU - Voisard, Brigitte

AU - Vallis, Michael

AU - Corace, Kimberly

AU - Presseau, Justin

AU - Bacon, Simon

N1 - Funding Information: 1Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada 2Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, CIUSSS-NIM Research Centre, Montreal, Québec, Canada 3Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada 4Keenan Research Center, St Michael's Hospital Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5Medicine, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 7Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, Montreal, Québec, Canada 8Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 9Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 10Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 11Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 12School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Acknowledgements We acknowledge the support from our Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation Team, particularly administrative support by Mr Guillaume Lacoste and Dr Genevieve Szczepanik; web, graphics and technical support from Johanne O’Malley (Wordcrafting); and analytical support by Ms Mariam Atoui and Dr Julian Esse Atto. Funding Information: Funding The International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation (iCARE) study is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR: MM1-174903; MS3-173099; SMC-151518), the Canada Research Chairs Program (950-232522, Chair holder: Dr. Kim L. Lavoie), the Fonds de recherche du Québec -santé (FRQ-S: 251618 and 34757), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC: 2019-SE1-252541), and the Ministère de l'Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec (2020-2022-COVID-19-PSOv2a-51754). Study sponsors had no role in the design of the database and data collection. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

PY - 2022/4/5

Y1 - 2022/4/5

N2 - Objective To examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021. Design Five sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys. Setting Canada. Participants A total of 15 019 Canadians aged 18 years and over were recruited through a recognised polling firm (Leger Opinion). Respondents were 51.5% female with a mean age of 48.1 (SD 17.2) years (range 18-95 years) and predominantly white (80.8%). Primary and secondary outcome measures Rates of vaccine hesitancy over the five surveys (time points) and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates. Results A total of 42.2% of respondents reported some degree of vaccine hesitancy, which was lowest during surveys 1 (April 2020) and 5 (March 2021) and highest during survey 3 (November 2020). Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that women, those aged 50 and younger, non-white, those with high school education or less, and those with annual household incomes below the poverty line in Canada were significantly more likely to report vaccine hesitancy, as were essential and healthcare workers, parents of children under the age of 18 and those who do not get regular influenza vaccines. Endorsing prevention behaviours as important for reducing virus transmission and high COVID-19 health concerns were associated with 77% and 54% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, respectively. Having high personal financial concerns was associated with 1.33 times increased odds of vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of targeting vaccine efforts to specific groups by emphasising the outsized health benefits compared with risks of vaccination. Future research should monitor changes in vaccine intentions and behaviour to better understand underlying factors.

AB - Objective To examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021. Design Five sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys. Setting Canada. Participants A total of 15 019 Canadians aged 18 years and over were recruited through a recognised polling firm (Leger Opinion). Respondents were 51.5% female with a mean age of 48.1 (SD 17.2) years (range 18-95 years) and predominantly white (80.8%). Primary and secondary outcome measures Rates of vaccine hesitancy over the five surveys (time points) and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates. Results A total of 42.2% of respondents reported some degree of vaccine hesitancy, which was lowest during surveys 1 (April 2020) and 5 (March 2021) and highest during survey 3 (November 2020). Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that women, those aged 50 and younger, non-white, those with high school education or less, and those with annual household incomes below the poverty line in Canada were significantly more likely to report vaccine hesitancy, as were essential and healthcare workers, parents of children under the age of 18 and those who do not get regular influenza vaccines. Endorsing prevention behaviours as important for reducing virus transmission and high COVID-19 health concerns were associated with 77% and 54% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, respectively. Having high personal financial concerns was associated with 1.33 times increased odds of vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of targeting vaccine efforts to specific groups by emphasising the outsized health benefits compared with risks of vaccination. Future research should monitor changes in vaccine intentions and behaviour to better understand underlying factors.

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Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: Results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020-March 2021

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

PubMed: MeSH publication types

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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