COVID-19 Knowledge,Attitude,Practice,and Vaccine-Related Decision Making among Immigrants: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study

Abstract

Immigrants are disproportionally impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and of the reported positive cases and fatalities, many are from historically disadvantaged groups that face severe health inequities and suffer from health disparities. Therefore, in the current research, using cross-sectional survey of immigrants, we conduct an exploratory investigation to examine their Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine. In addition, we explore the role of subjective norms and response efficacy on vaccine-related decision making. The findings reveal that most participants were knowledgeable regarding the COVID-19 infection and the vaccine and practiced important safety behaviors to contain the spread. In addition, a significant effect of social norms and response efficacy on vaccine intentions were found suggesting the importance of integrating normative, culturally informed messaging while designing health campaigns for this hard-to-reach population. Given the small sample size, due to it being a hard-to-reach population, the findings should not be generalized, and future research should extend the study to draw broader conclusions. Implications of the findings are discussed.