Trust in official information as a key predictor of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: evidence from a Czech longitudinal survey study

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00023752%3A_____%2F25%3A43921475" target="_blank" >RIV/00023752:_____/25:43921475 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11120/25:43928183

Result on the web

<a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-21988-x" target="_blank" >https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-21988-x</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21988-x" target="_blank" >10.1186/s12889-025-21988-x</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Trust in official information as a key predictor of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: evidence from a Czech longitudinal survey study

Original language description

Background: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (CVH) has become a critical public health issue, with attitudes toward vaccines emerging as a broader social issue. Public debates surrounding vaccines have expanded beyond health considerations to include issues of trust, misinformation, and societal values, making CVH a complex challenge that requires multifaceted solutions. Analyzing the various determinants of CVH is crucial for developing targeted strategies to improve vaccine acceptance in specific countries and to better prepare for future public health crises. However, no study to date has evaluated the determinants of CVH in a representative sample of the Czech population.Methods: A multiple hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyze the associations between various sociodemographic, trust and attitudinal factors with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (CVA). The analysis utilized survey data from a representative longitudinal sample of the Czech population (N = 1,407).Results: After controlling for all other factors, trust in official statements from the Ministry of Health was the strongest predictor of CVA, followed by prior positive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination (prior to vaccine availability) and older age. Lower trust in COVID-19 misinformation also predicted CVA, while lower interest in COVID-19 media content was associated with CVA. Higher income initially predicted CVA but lost statistical significance after controlling for other variables. Interestingly, education did not play a role in CVA.Conclusion: CVH was primarily driven by distrust in government-provided information. Notably, vaccine refusers demonstrated a higher motivation to seek information on the topic, offering a promising opportunity for health policy interventions. Our findings suggest that strategies to reduce CVH should prioritize building trust in state institutions and effectively combating misinformation.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30215 - Psychiatry

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

BMC Public Health

ISSN

1471-2458

e-ISSN

1471-2458

Volume of the periodical

25

Issue of the periodical within the volume

"Article number 770"

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

1-11

UT code for WoS article

001432960300011

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85219017019