Intention of covid-19 vaccination in the Sri Lankan context: a structural equation model approach

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:The intention on vaccination of COVID-19 is influenced by demographic and psychological factors. An understanding of the factors that influence the intention of COVID-19 vaccination is important to achieve the successful vaccination programs. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study is to determinethe critical factors affecting the intention of COVID-19 vaccination in Sri Lanka. METHODOLOGY: Anonline questionnaire was implemented amongstSri Lankans to acquire the primary data. The questionnaire assessed the social demographic features, vaccination details, perception and intention about the vaccination, social norm, media exposure, and trust towards vaccines. Descriptive analysis was used to analysethe demographic characters andvaccination details. The structural equation model was used to analysethe relationship between the intention of COVID-19 vaccination and other relevant factors. RESULTS: The results showed that the perception of vaccine, social norms and trust were significantly related with people’sintention towards vaccination, whereas media exposure showed an insignificant relationship with the intention towards vaccination. Meanwhile, perception about vaccine and media exposure had significant relationshipsbetween trust of the vaccines. CONCLUSION: It was conclusive thatthe intention of the COVID-19 vaccination was greatly influenced by the perception of vaccine, social norms and trust besides media exposure, which had an indirect effect on intention towards vaccination of COVID-19.KEYWORDSCOVID-19, Perception, Sri Lanka, Structure equation model, Vaccination