Beliefs and Barriers Towards Flu Vaccination Among College Students.

INFLUENZA prevention; ATTITUDE (Psychology); PSYCHOLOGY of college students; FEAR; HEALTH attitudes; HEALTH education; HEALTH services accessibility; INFLUENZA vaccines; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL care costs; QUESTIONNAIRES; STUDENT attitudes; VACCINATION; PILOT projects; PSYCHOLOGY of Undergraduates; CROSS-sectional method; DATA analysis software; HEALTH Belief Model; DESCRIPTIVE statistics

Background. Although the annual flu vaccination is the best way to prevent the flu, vaccination rates on college campuses across the United States (U.S.) remain remarkably low. Methods. Guided by the Health Belief Model, the purpose of this capstone pilot study was to identify the beliefs and barriers towards flu vaccination among undergraduate college students attending a HBCU. Results. Beliefs included: fear of contracting the flu, danger of getting the flu from the vaccination, and dangerous side effects associated with the vaccine. Moreover, the majority of the participants noted that they had not yet received the annual flu vaccine, nor did they have any intention of getting the vaccine. Conclusion. Findings underscore the importance of a culturally tailored campus-wide messaging and educational campaigns to debunk myths and misconceptions regarding the flu vaccine, especially in light of the current COVID- 19 pandemic and the race to develop and distribute a vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]