IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v12y2023i4p230-d1122705.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of and Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination among Urban Slum Dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Wafa Alam

    (BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh)

  • Nadia Farnaz

    (BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh)

  • Farzana Manzoor

    (BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh)

  • Sally Theobald

    (Department of International Public Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK)

  • Sabina Faiz Rashid

    (BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh)

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy or low uptake was identified as a major threat to global health by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. Vaccine hesitancy is context-specific and varies across time, place, and socioeconomic groups. In this study, we aimed to understand the perceptions of and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination through time among urban slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 with 36 adults (25 females and 11 males) living in three urban slums of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Follow-up interviews were undertaken in April and August 2021 to capture any shift in the participants’ perceptions. Our findings show that for many there was an initial fear and confusion regarding the COVID-19 vaccine among people living in urban informal settlements; this confusion was soon reduced by the awareness efforts of government and non-government organizations. Women and young people were more interested in being vaccinated as they had had more exposure to the awareness sessions conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and on social media. However, people living in the slums still faced systemic barriers, such as complicated online vaccine registration and long queues, which led to low uptake of the vaccine despite their increased willingness to be vaccinated. This study highlights the importance of using sources such as NGO workers and television news to debunk myths, disseminate COVID-19 vaccine information, and support adherence to vaccination among urban slum dwellers. Our study underscores the importance of addressing systemic barriers blocking access and understanding community perceptions in order to develop effective communication strategies for vulnerable groups that will then improve the COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Suggested Citation

  • Wafa Alam & Nadia Farnaz & Farzana Manzoor & Sally Theobald & Sabina Faiz Rashid, 2023. "Perceptions of and Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination among Urban Slum Dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:230-:d:1122705
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/4/230/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/4/230/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sabrina Sharmin Haque & Monica Yanez-Pagans & Yurani Arias-Granada & George Joseph, 2020. "Water and sanitation in Dhaka slums: access, quality, and informality in service provision," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7-8), pages 791-811, November.
    2. Ayesha S Al Dhaheri & Mo’ath F Bataineh & Maysm N Mohamad & Abir Ajab & Amina Al Marzouqi & Amjad H Jarrar & Carla Habib-Mourad & Dima O Abu Jamous & Habiba I Ali & Haleama Al Sabbah & Hayder Hasan & , 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on mental health and quality of life: Is there any effect? A cross-sectional study of the MENA region," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-17, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim Hua Tan & Poh Phui Chan & Nur-Ehsan Mohd Said, 2021. "Higher Education Students’ Online Instruction Perceptions: A Quality Virtual Learning Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Theingi Maung Maung & Timsi Jain & Jagannathan Madhanagopal & Sawri Rajan L. Rajagopal Naidu & Hnin Pwint Phyu & Win Myint Oo, 2022. "Impact of Aerobic and Strengthening Exercise on Quality of Life (QOL), Mental Health and Physical Performance of Elderly People Residing at Old Age Homes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-11, August.
    3. Felix Kwabena Donkor & Stergios-Aristoteles Mitoulis & Sotirios Argyroudis & Hassan Aboelkhair & Juan Antonio Ballesteros Canovas & Ahmad Bashir & Ginbert Permejo Cuaton & Samo Diatta & Maral Habibi &, 2022. "SDG Final Decade of Action: Resilient Pathways to Build Back Better from High-Impact Low-Probability (HILP) Events," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Olga Vl. Bitkina & Jaehyun Park, 2021. "Emotional State and Social Media Experience: A Pandemic Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir & Rusyda Helma & Wan Nur Khairunnisa Ismail & Siti Jamiaah Abdul Jalil & Nurul-Azza Abdullah & Arena Che Kasim & Suzana Mohd. Hoesni & Mohd Rizal Abdul Manaf, 2022. "Sustaining the Quality of Life for University Employees with Obesity Using Mindfulness Activities and Work Engagement: A Quasi-Experimental Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-12, February.
    6. Rebeca Sultana & Stephen P Luby & Emily S Gurley & Nadia Ali Rimi & Sayeda Tasnuva Swarna & Jahangir A M Khan & Nazmun Nahar & Probir Kumar Ghosh & Sushil Ranjan Howlader & Humayun Kabir & Shifat Khan, 2021. "Cost of illness for severe and non-severe diarrhea borne by households in a low-income urban community of Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:230-:d:1122705. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.