The predictors of the willingness to receive the third dose of Covid-19 vaccine based on the Health Belief Model: A cross-sectional study in South Khorasan province

Due to reduced levels of antibody provided by vaccines or the emergence of variants COVID-19 infections have re-emerged in many countries. A considerable supplementary intervention is recommended including an additional dose of vaccination. The present study aimed to investigate the predictors of the willingness to receivethe third dose of COVID-19 vaccine based on the health belief model (HBM) constructs among people referring to health centers in South Khorasan province. In this cross-sectional-analytical study, 283 people over 18 years in South Khorasan province were randomly selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire including demographic information and health status, knowledge about COVID-19 and the third dose of the vaccine, as well as a questionnaire on based HBM constructs through self-report. Finally, the data were analyzed using Chi-square, and multivariate logistic regression. The mean age of the study participants was 36.57±11.56 with range of 18-66 years. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender (P=0.012), marital status(P=0.038), occupation (P=0.013), and constructs of perceived severity (P=0.005), and cues to action (P=0.018), had a significant direct effect and the construct of perceived barriers (P=0.010) had a significant inverse effect on the willingness to acceptance the third dose of the vaccine. Also, the predictor variables explained about 67.7% of the tendency to receive the third dose of the vaccine. The current study suggests that enhancing the perceived severity of Covid-19, along with healthcareproviders recommendation to receive the vaccine and reducing perceived barriers, can effectivelyencourage individuals to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. These findings can be utilized to develop interventions aimed at promoting the uptake of the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.