Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Covid-19 Vaccine Among Older Adults in Ikwerre LGA, in Rivers State
Abstract
Background: Older adults remain at increased risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and mortality from COVID-19, yet vaccine hesitancy persists in many low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria. Lack of knowledge, attitude, and perception toward the COVID-19 vaccine contribute significantly to vaccine refusal in older populations. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of older adults toward the COVID-19 vaccine in Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA), Rivers State, Nigeria. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 older adults aged 60 years and above residing in Ikwerre LGA from August 8th to September 24th 2024, using a well-structured questionnaire and analysed using Stata version 16. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize socio-demographic characteristics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test The ANOVA test was used to test for the association between KAP and socio demographic factors and statistical significance was set at p-value ≤0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 68.5 ± 5.4. The study found that half of the respondents (50.6%) had low knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, while (30.3%) demonstrated high knowledge. About two-thirds (70.7%) of the respondents had good attitude, while more than half (66.7%) had positive perceptions of the vaccine. The primary source of vaccine information was children (57%) followed by relatives (44.9%) and friends (40.0%).. Knowledge was significantly associated with education, occupation, and income (p<0.001), while marital status, living arrangement, income, and healthcare access were significantly associated with attitude and perception. Conclusion: The study revealed that most respondents expressed positive attitudes and perceptions toward COVID-19 vaccination, knowledge levels were generally low influenced by socio-demographic factors. Targeted health education and improved access to reliable vaccine information are essential to strengthen vaccine literacy and sustain positive attitudes, ultimately enhancing vaccine uptake among older adults in Nigeria.