CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) VACCINATION: OPINIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SOCIAL WORKERS. A GREEK NATIONAL SURVEY

Abstract

There is a general belief that vaccines constitute the most effective form of limiting the spread of diseases and protecting public health. Yet, as highly effective tools as vaccines may be, studies reveal that the rates of support and acceptance of vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic from public health personnel in Western countries indicate hesitancy among them. As professional Social Workers are part of the public health personnel who are priority groups for many vaccinations, the present study focused on their opinions and attitudes towards vaccination and their role in motivating their beneficiaries. The purpose of this quantitative Greek National Survey among 771 Social Workers, members of the Association of Social Workers of Greece (ASGLE), who are professionally active in Greece, was to understand and analyze their attitudes towards the available vaccines against COVID-19 and compulsory vaccination. Through the online self-completion questionnaire, which was used for the collection of data, the survey also aimed to evaluate the Social Workers’ knowledge and sources from which they received information about Covid-19, their motivational sources, their views on compulsory vaccination of health professionals and their views on motivating their beneficiaries with regards to vaccination.  Article visualizations: