Prevalence of Covid-19 vaccine uptake among small scale business owners in Limbe and Blantyre markets in Blantyre District, Malawi

Tagara, Ndomupeishe; Nkhata, Paul; Useni, Bridget; Tsindikidzo, Tinotenda

Prevalence of Covid-19 vaccine uptake among small scale business owners in Limbe and Blantyre markets in Blantyre District, Malawi

Date

2022-03-22

Authors

Tagara, Ndomupeishe

Nkhata, Paul

Useni, Bridget

Tsindikidzo, Tinotenda

Publisher

Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

Abstract

Covid 19 is a pandemic which has affected the world economically, socially and scientifically. One of the interventions which have been implemented to curb the pandemic is development of vaccines such as Astra Zeneca which is being widely administered in Malawi. The administration of vaccines has to some degree reduced the development of severe infection. Even though the vaccine reduces the severity of the disease, the coverage is still minimal and one of the reasons for this is reduced acceptance of the vaccine. The government, through the ministry of health has employed many methods to raise awareness about the importance of covid-19 vaccines. Aim and objectives of the study The main aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of covid-19 vaccine uptake among small scale business owners in urban Blantyre. The specific objectives are to assess the participants’ knowledge on the covid 19 pandemic, evaluate whether or not they have been vaccinated and the reasons behind these decisions and to identify if they know the importance of vaccines. It also aims to asses and categorise factors affecting covid 19 vaccine uptake among this population. Study design, population, sample size and sampling strategy This study shall be a quantitative cross-sectional study with 384 participants. It is to be done in Blantyre in the following markets; Limbe and Blantyre markets. The markets were chosen as they are one of the busiest and are incredibly diverse. The targeted population are vendors, shop and flea market owners above 18 years of age that can give signed and informed consent. As to the nature of the method of data collection literate participants are preferable. Those that are already participating in the study but wish to withdraw shall be allowed to do so. The participants shall be sampled using the systematic randomised method. Data collection and analysis The data shall be collected through written questionnaires available in both Chichewa and English to be filled by the participants without input from the investigators. Data collection shall be for two weeks during the 2022-2023 academic year and it shall involve the investigators going to the mentioned markets to collect it. It shall be stored in Microsoft excel 2016 and analysed using STATA. To ensure confidentiality and privacy the participants shall be kept anonymous and personal information collected shall be protected with the use of passwords and encryptions and shall be destroyed at the conclusion of the study. Ethical considerations and dissemination of results To ensure that the study is ethical, approval shall be sought from the following two bodies; COMREC and Blantyre city council.