COVID-19 vaccine-related attitudes and concerns of chemotherapy patients

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the attitudes and concerns of chemotherapy patients related to COVID-19 vaccination and determine factors associated with their vaccine behavior. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted with 300 patients who received chemotherapy in the oncology outpatient clinic of a University Hospital in Istanbul in October 2021. Based on our power calculation, a minimum sample size of 264 patients was needed. However, we recruited a sample of 300 to increase the power of the study. Data were collected online using a patient information form and the Attitudes Towards the COVID-19 Vaccine Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and parametric tests. Results: The participants had a mean age of 55.64±13.80 years, 56.7% were women, 64% were married, 38.3% were high school graduates, and 35.7% were homemakers. Age, education level, and chronic disease were associated only with negative attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine; gender was associated with positive attitudes. Being vaccinated against COVID-19 was associated with 99% lower negative attitudes and 66.9 times higher positive attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine, while men had 76% lower positive attitudes than women. Conclusions: Overall, patients receiving chemotherapy had a favorable attitude toward and high acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Keywords

• cancer
• chemotherapy
• covid-19 vaccine
• attitudes and concerns