Social and psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention in European and North American adults: a systematic review

Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, tremendous efforts have been made to address this public health emergency of international concern. The control of the disease has essentially depended on vaccination programs. Many recent studies continue to explore the factors related to the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. This systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycoINFO were searched to gather all relevant data on the social and psychological determinants of intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. The ROBIS tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias. The main objective of this systematic review was to identify the main social and psychological determinants responsible for the choice to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the adult population of Europe and North America. This systematic review examined literature identified through seven databases yielding 576 PRISMA records, yielding 28 articles. The results suggest that older people, higher education level, and Caucasians have a stronger intention to be vaccinated. Many studies confirm that beliefs about vaccine costs and benefits are related to vaccine intention. Social concerns, perceived severity of COVID-19, and perceived risk of being infected are confirmed in most studies as determinants of vaccination intention. Conspiracy beliefs seem to promote vaccine hesitance. The results point to some useful conclusions for promoting vaccination in future pandemic situations. In addition to the targeting of the most vaccine-resistant groups, this study suggests the main themes that should be focused on in future public communication to promote vaccination.