Moderating Effect of Education on the Impact of Vaccine Hesitancy on COVID-19 Vaccine Decision Regret

Purpose: During the Covid-19 pandemic, herd immunity was accepted as an important strategy in the fight against the epidemic. However, vaccine decision regret emerged for various reasons. The aim of this research is to reveal the factors affecting vaccine decision regret in those who received the COVI-19 vaccine. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study conducted in Türkiye with 748 people who received at least three doses of Covid-19 vaccine. The study was conducted between 13.12.2024 and 3.3.2025 online with an analytical research model and a convenience sampling method was used. Demographic and health-related discrete variables and a decision regret scale were used as data collection tools. T-test, ANOVA and and moderator effect analysis was performed with Jamovi. Results: The findings show that demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, education, employment status, and income level have significant effects on decision regret. It was found that education has a significant moderator role in the effect of vaccine hesitancy on vaccine regret. Conclusion: It has been revealed that both demographic characteristics and attitudes towards Covid-19 affect vaccine decision regret at various levels, vaccine hesitancy increases vaccine regret, but this effect decreases with education.