Περίληψη:
Among healthcare workers (HCWs), SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy may be linked to a higher susceptibility to nocebo effects, i.e., adverse events (AEs) experienced after medical treatments due to negative expectations. To investigate this hypothesis a cross-sectional survey was performed with a self-completed questionnaire that included a tool (Q-No) for the identification of nocebo-prone individuals. A total of 1309 HCWs (67.2% women; 43.4% physicians; 28.4% nurses; 11.5% administrative staff; 16.6% other personnel) completed the questionnaires, among whom 237 (18.1%) had declined vaccination. Q-No scores were ≥15 in 325 participants (24.8%) suggesting nocebo-prone behavior. In a multivariate logistic regression model with Q-No score, age, gender, and occupation as independent variables, estimated odds ratios (ORs) of vaccination were 0.43 (i.e., less likely, p < 0.001) in participants with Q-No score ≥ 15 vs. Q-No score < 15, 0.58 in females vs. males (p = 0.013), and 4.7 (i.e., more likely) in physicians vs. other HCWs (p < 0.001), independent of age, which was not significantly associated with OR of vaccination. At least one adverse effect (AE) was reported by 67.5% of vaccinees, mostly local pain and flu-like symptoms. In a multivariate logistic regression model, with Q-No score, age, gender, and occupation as independent variables, estimated ORs of AE reporting were 2.0 in females vs. males (p < 0.001) and 1.47 in physicians vs. other HCWs (p = 0.017) independently of age and Q-No score, which were not significantly associated with OR of AE. These findings suggest that nocebo-prone behavior in HCWs is associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination hesitancy indicating a potential benefit of a campaign focused on nocebo-prone people. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Συγγραφείς:
Mitsikostas, D.D.
Aravantinou-Fatorou, K.
Deligianni, C.
Kravvariti, E.
Korompoki, E.
Mylona, M.
Vryttia, P.
Papagiannopoulou, G.
Delicha, E.-M.
Dellis, A.
Tsivgoulis, G.
Dimopoulos, M.A.
Amanzio, M.
Sfikakis, P.P.
Λέξεις-κλειδιά:
analgesic agent; comirnaty; SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, adult; Article; cross-sectional study; dizziness; drug efficacy; dyspnea; fatigue; female; fever; headache; health care personnel; human; hypertension; hypotension; major clinical study; male; mass immunization; medical staff; middle aged; motivation; myalgia; nocebo effect; pain; physician; predictive value; rash; sensitivity and specificity; social worker; tachycardia; vaccination; vaccine hesitancy; vaccinee
