This edition of the HILJ club has been prepared by Alan Fricker, NHS Knowledge and Library Hub Manager. @AlanFricker.bsky.social (Twitter RIP) and NotebookLM

Paper for discussion

The effect of COVID-19 vaccine literacy on attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine among university students

Mahinur Durmuş Iskender PhD, MSc, BSc, RN, Handan Eren PhD, MSc, BSc, RN, Ayşenur Durmuş MSc, BSc, RN, PhD Student

Volume 40 (3) September 2023 Pages 307-318 https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12489 (Open Access)

Abstract

University Students Show Positive Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Vaccine but Lack Expected Literacy Levels

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine literacy and attitudes towards the vaccine among 2,384 university students in Turkey. Students demonstrated a moderately positive attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine, but their measured vaccine literacy was lower than expected. Interestingly, a negative correlation was observed between vaccine literacy and positive attitudes toward the vaccine; as vaccine literacy scores increased, positive attitudes towards the vaccine decreased. Students in health sciences exhibited significantly more positive attitudes towards the vaccine compared to students in other disciplines. Similarly, a positive correlation was found between socioeconomic level and positive attitudes towards the vaccine. Unexpectedly, students with less educated parents demonstrated higher levels of communicative and critical vaccine literacy. The authors hypothesize this may be due to these students taking on the responsibility of explaining vaccine information to their parents, which ultimately enhances their own understanding.

Audio Overview generated by NotebookLM

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/635e1b38-daf3-4c30-8c63-eab0ab3c5997/audio

COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy and Attitudes Among University Students: FAQ generated by NotebookLM

1. What is the purpose of this study?

This study aimed to explore the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine literacy and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine among university students in Turkey. Researchers wanted to understand how well students understood vaccine information and how this understanding influenced their opinions about getting vaccinated.

2. What is COVID-19 vaccine literacy?

COVID-19 vaccine literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use information about COVID-19 vaccines to make informed decisions about vaccination. This includes basic reading and comprehension skills (functional literacy) as well as the ability to critically evaluate information sources, consider different perspectives, and engage in discussions about vaccines (communicative/critical literacy).

3. What were the main findings regarding COVID-19 vaccine literacy?

• The average COVID-19 vaccine literacy score among the students was moderate.
• Students whose mothers had lower education levels tended to have higher communicative/critical vaccine literacy scores. This might be because these students were more likely to explain vaccine information to their mothers, improving their own understanding in the process.
• Students who had not been diagnosed with COVID-19 had higher vaccine literacy scores than those who had been diagnosed.

4. What were the main findings regarding attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine?

• Students generally had positive attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Health sciences students had more positive attitudes than students in other disciplines, likely due to their greater knowledge of vaccines and health.
• Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and those whose mothers had higher education levels also showed more positive attitudes towards the vaccine.

5. Was there a relationship between COVID-19 vaccine literacy and attitudes towards the vaccine?

Interestingly, the study found a weak negative relationship between positive attitudes and COVID-19 vaccine literacy. This means that students with higher vaccine literacy scores tended to have slightly less positive attitudes toward the vaccine. This unexpected finding might be due to the novelty of the COVID-19 vaccine at the time of the study and the abundance of speculative news, which could have fueled skepticism even among those who understood vaccine information well.

6. What factors might have influenced the students’ vaccine literacy and attitudes?

Several factors could have played a role, including:

• Access to information: University students generally have good access to information, both online and through their academic institutions. However, the quality and reliability of this information can vary greatly.
• Social media: Social media can be a source of both accurate and inaccurate information about vaccines. Misinformation and negative narratives can spread quickly and influence attitudes.
• Parental education and socioeconomic status: Higher parental education and socioeconomic status are often associated with greater health literacy and more positive attitudes towards vaccines.
• Personal experience with COVID-19: Having been diagnosed with COVID-19 could potentially lead to increased anxiety and a desire for more information, which might explain the higher vaccine literacy scores among those who had been diagnosed.

7. What are the implications of this study?

The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve COVID-19 vaccine literacy among university students, especially those in non-health disciplines. Providing accurate, accessible, and relevant information is crucial to address concerns and build trust in vaccines. It is also important to equip students with the skills to critically evaluate information sources and make informed decisions about their health.

8. What are some limitations of this study?

• The study was conducted in Turkey, so the findings may not be generalizable to other populations.
• The cross-sectional design of the study only provides a snapshot of vaccine literacy and attitudes at a specific point in time. Longitudinal studies could offer a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors change over time.
• The study relies on self-reported data, which can be subject to bias.

HILJ Club discussion

I wanted to experiment with NotebookLM and the Audio overview feature. Hopefully the link will work for the audio overview but it is not dissimilar in content to the generated FAQs with lots of “likes” and other nonsense chucked in to make it sound like a podcast. It is not possible to ask it to be set at a more advanced scientific level.

Notable for me is the lack of any inclusion of details of the survey tools (that had been tested which would have been useful to know) nor of the statistical tests applied (with very substantial statistical content included). Only one of the three research questions is pulled out in the FAQ summary despite being nicely labelled in the text.

The article itself is interesting (to me) in terms of some of the factors that impact peoples health literacy (around vaccines in this case). The Covid pandemic was a very particular set of circumstances with high interest for many and this may skew these results as might the sample collected.

What do people think of AI summarisation? How does it impact your understanding of the article? How might you use similar technologies in your approach to appraisal?