COVID-19 vaccine refusal associated with health literacy: findings from a population-based survey in Korea

BMC Public Health

Table 3 Prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine refusal vs. acceptance by sociodemographic, subjective health, and health literacy status in 2021

		Refusal		Acceptance		p-value
Variable	Category	n	%	n	%
Sex	Male	3,643	3.5	100,855	96.5	0.499
	Female	4,229	3.4	120,515	96.6
Age group, years	19–29	1,586	6.4	23,109	93.6	<0.001
	30–39	1,699	6.6	24,034	93.4
	40–49	1,185	3.3	34,351	96.7
	50–59	862	2.0	42,212	98.0
	60–69	947	2.0	46,581	98.0
	≥ 70	1,593	3.0	51,083	97.0
Educational level	≤ Primary education	1,533	3.0	49,608	97.0	<0.001
	Middle school	543	2.2	23,808	97.8
	High school	2,789	3.6	74,308	96.4
	College or higher	3,001	3.9	73,518	96.1
Marital status	Currently married	3,893	2.7	140,214	97.3	<0.001
	Ever-married	1,594	3.5	43,910	96.5
	Never-married	2,379	6.0	37,181	94.0
Employment status	Self-employed	1,061	2.6	39,995	97.4	<0.001
	Salaried	2,430	2.6	89,738	97.4
	Economically inactive	4,260	4.6	88,761	95.4
Basic living security recipient	Yes	678	6.3	10,128	93.7	<0.001
	No	7,193	3.3	211,222	96.7
Subjective health status	Very healthy	682	4.7	13,968	95.3	<0.001
	Healthy	2,256	2.9	76,132	97.1
	Neutral	2,796	2.9	94,590	97.1
	Unhealthy	1,474	4.7	30,194	95.3
	Very unhealthy	664	9.3	6,480	90.7
Spoken directions from health professionals	Very easy	1,736	3.5	48,159	96.5	<0.001
	Somewhat easy	4,075	3.2	122,845	96.8
	Somewhat difficult	1,625	3.5	44,741	96.5
	Very difficult	422	7.2	5,458	92.8
Written information	Very easy	1,470	3.6	39,157	96.4	<0.001
	Somewhat easy	3,392	3.2	104,124	96.8
	Somewhat difficult	1,136	3.1	35,326	96.9
	Very difficult	314	4.5	6,647	95.5
	Do not pay attention	1,551	4.1	36,020	95.9

ISSN: 1471-2458