Health Literacy and Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake among Older Adults at the Asokore Mampong Municipality-Ghana

Authors

Keywords:

Health Literacy, Covid-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitancy, older adults, vaccine uptake

Abstract

Adults 60 years and above were the most affected age group by COVID-19 and suffered the most hospitalizations and deaths. This group tend to resist vaccines (vaccine hesitancy—VH) due to reasons that include limited health literacy (HL). This could further put the geriatric population at risk of other health-related challenges, including future global pandemics. This study determined health literacy and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among older adults in the Asokore Mampong Municipality.

A cross-sectional study design and a quantitative approach were employed to collect data from the participants using a structured ‘All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale’ (AAHLS) programmed on the Open Data Kit (ODK). A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship and the strength of the relationship between Health Literacy and the uptake of the vaccine. All analyses were performed using STATA software, and a significance level was determined at a p-value < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval.

The mean age for the study sample was 66.9±5.3. The fully vaccinated among the study sample were twice (64.12%) as many as those unvaccinated (30.67%). At a significant value of 0.05, the relationship between HL and vaccine uptake was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.001: OR; 1.120), suggesting that HL played a crucial role in the COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

In conclusion,health literacyy influences vaccineuptake,e and therefore, interventions targeted at improving community acceptance of health services should have health literacy as one of the focal measures to build individual and community resilience to withstand complex health challenges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Ernest Ekutor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

    Ernest Ekutor is a PhD student and a public health researcher at the School of Public Health, KNUST. He also serves as a resource person for a MasterCard-sponsored Diploma in Health Communication program at the Department of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, SPH-KNUST. He possesses extensive knowledge in both qualitative and quantitative studies, with research focused on the Social Determinants of Health and health equity. His work includes Health Needs Assessment (HNA), Health Impact Assessment (HIA), Behavior Change modelling, and social behavior change communication (SBCC). Additionally, he has a special interest in health literacy.

  • Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

    Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong is a Senior Lecturer of Public Health (Health Promotion) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and development consultant with both national and international experience. He is a member of the International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), the Association of Commonwealth Scholars, the International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) and a DANIDA Fellow. Emmanuel has advance experience with both quantitative and qualitative research approaches and does research in areas including non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, health impact assessment (HIA), health behaviour modelling, social  behaviour change communication (SBCC), WASH and health, health systems analysis, and mental health promotion.

  • Hasehni Vampere, KNJUST

    Hasehni Vampere is an Assistant Lecturer in the department of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Public Health at KNUST and have keen interest in researching on the health of vulnerable populations especially persons with disabilities. He teaches at the Center for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, KNUST; and is currently the project coordinator for the undergraduate programs in the department.

  • Christopher Senyo Adzaho

    Christopher Senyo Adzaho is a Ghanaian optometrist and public health professional. He heads the Eye Unit at St. John of God Hospital in Duayaw Nkwanta, where he leads clinical services, school eye health initiatives, and community outreach programs. He is passionate about expanding access to quality eye care, particularly for children and underserved populations, and holds additional training in health promotion, monitoring and evaluation, and global health project management.

Downloads

Published

2025-08-19

Issue

Vol. 43 No. 3 (2025)

Section

Health and Biological Sciences

License

JUST Vol. 43 Number 1 (2025) Copyright and Licensing statement

How to Cite

Health Literacy and Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake among Older Adults at the Asokore Mampong Municipality-Ghana. (2025). Journal of Science and Technology, 43(3), 52-65. https://journal.knust.edu.gh/index.php/just/article/view/1815

Most read articles by the same author(s)