Quantitative Measurement of Individual and Contextual Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination in General Population Samples: A Scoping Review

This scoping review aims to map the quantitative literature investigating vaccine-related individual and contextual determinants of COVID-19 vaccination uptake, identify and define constructs assessed, and describe the characteristics of self-report measures.

A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to capture peer-reviewed journal articles published between December 31, 2019, and December 25, 2021. Studies conducted in English and collecting data from general population samples using self-report measures of vaccine-related determinants of COVID-19 vaccination behavior were eligible. Data were analyzed using a descriptive statistics and content analysis, and constructs were mapped onto the COM-B model. The review pre-registration is available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/82fsz).

This review identified 157 studies (6153 abstracts and 997 full texts screened) and 425 vaccine-related constructs were retrieved from included studies. Of these, 4% were mapped to capability factors, 85% to motivation, and 11% to opportunity. The most frequently assessed constructs were positive attitudes (19% of constructs), negative attitudes (16%), intention (10%), and beliefs (8%). Only 11% of studies used or adapted pre-existing measures in their surveys. Psychometric properties of self-report measures used were not reported in the majority of studies (60%).

Findings suggest a predominant focus on perceived individual-level predictors of COVID-19 vaccination with inconsistent measurement, potentially compromising research validity. This research highlights opportunities to explore social/environmental factors, establish unified definitions, and employ validated self-report measures for robust survey-based studies on COVID-19 vaccination determinants.