Acceptance, attitudes, and barriers of vaccine booster dose among nursing students: A multicounty survey

Aim This study investigated the acceptance and attitudes of nursing students toward the COVID‐19 vaccine booster dose in two Gulf Cooperation countries and the potential influencing factors for taking a COVID‐19 vaccine booster dose. Background The world is still battling coronavirus because of the emerged of variants and because protection against COVID‐19 has waned over time. Vaccination is a powerful and effective method of reducing the outbreak of COVID‐19 and decreasing the loss of lives. Design This research was a survey using a cross‐sectional design. Methods The study's sample was two nursing colleges. The study tool was adopted according to recent information concerning the COVID‐19 vaccine published by the World Health Organization. Data was collected through an online survey during March to April. Results A total of 216 nursing students completed the survey, of which 69.4% (n = 150) were male students and more than half of the participants were from Saudi Arabia (55.1%, n = 119). Two‐thirds of the students (75.5%, n = 161) reported that they agreed to receive a COVID‐19 vaccine booster. The total attitude scores for the students ranged from 28 to 35, with a mean score of 15.8 (SD = 2.5), representing 73% of the highest possible score, with 79.3% classified as ‘positive attitude toward booster dose of COVID‐19’. Vaccine booster might cause infection, vaccine booster ineffective, worried about adverse effects and not safe were major barriers influencing the acceptance of the COVID‐19 vaccine booster. Conclusion Nursing students revealed high acceptance rates related to COVID‐19 vaccine booster. However, more attention should be paid from nursing educators to barriers influencing the acceptance of the COVID‐19 vaccine booster. Preparing nursing students with positive attitude of COVID‐19 vaccine booster is very important to patient and community safety. Implications for Nursing Management Nursing educators and managers must make an effort to educate the nursing students regarding safety and effectiveness from COVID‐19 vaccine booster and ensure that it is necessary to reduce their perception of the injury of COVID‐19 infection.