THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR STUDYING ATTITUDES TOWARD COVID-19 VACCINATION Nikolina Radeva, Rositsa Chamova, Nikolay Mihaylov, Miglena Kolarova, Maria Rohova, Stanislava Hadzhieva, Rouzha Pancheva, Eliyana Ivanova, Tsonko Paunov
ABSTRACT: Identifying the reasons for vaccine hesitancy and the influencing factors of the vaccination decision is a key prerequisite for increasing immunisation coverage. The aim of this study is to systematise and analyse theoretical models that can be used to understand vaccination behaviour and explore attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Based on a review of scientific publications included in PubMed and Scopus, eight theoretical models and conceptual frameworks, divided into three groups, were derived. The Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and the Integrated Behaviour Model belong to the group of social-cognitive models, which can also be used to explain the factors underlying the acceptance or rejection of particular preventive health behaviour. Cognitive models describing health behaviour’s predictors, such as the Health Belief Model, are based on the assumption that behaviour results from a rational appraisal of the benefits and barriers but do not consider the social context. The third group includes models and frameworks for assessing vaccination readiness, such as the “3C” and “5C” models and the Increasing Vaccination Model, which are specifically designed to explain the drivers of the vaccination acceptance. Based on the latter, the World Health Organization has proposed a Behavioural and Social Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Framework.
Keywords: health behaviour, models, hesitancy, vaccine, COVID-19
