COVID-19 phobia, response to the vaccine and the right of urban migrant dwellers in the Ghanaian slums

Purpose This study investigate urban migrant dwellers’ gender and age differences in response to the specific phobia of COVID-19 and hesitancy toward vaccines in the slum settlements. Design/methodology/approach The study anchored on the two-factor model proposed by Mowrer (1939) and used a quantitative design approach with a convenience sampling method for data gathering among 362 urban migrants residing and working in the cities of Ghana. The study used the Mann–Whitney U test and the regression analysis for the analysis. Findings The result showed that there is a significant difference between males and females in their understanding of economic phobia, thoughts on social phobia and perception level of vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, there is a significant difference between age groups in their level of thoughts of psychological phobia, economic phobia and thoughts of vaccine hesitancy. Finally, the specific of phobias of COVID-19 are significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Research limitations/implications This research is slum-specific, which implies that the outcome cannot be generalized to other geographical settings. Practical implications The study demonstrates how a pandemic manifests itself to dwellers in slums. The outcome of the study sheds light on how policymakers appreciate the dynamics of the pandemic in a developing country, which may guide future responses to pandemics. Originality/value The outcome of the study sheds light on how policymakers appreciate the dynamics of the pandemic in a developing country, which may guide future responses to pandemics.