Assessing the psychometric properties of a modified vaccine hesitancy scale for measuring hepatitis B vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers in Southern Ghana

Background: Vaccine Hesitancy (VH) is an emerging public health problem affecting diverse populations, including Healthcare Workers (HCWs). Measuring VH for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is important in addressing personal-level factors impacting HBV vaccination among populations who are at greater risk of contracting hepatitis B virus through constant exposure to the blood and body fluids of patients. This study sought to determine the psychometric properties of a modified VH scale and test its suitability or appropriateness for measuring the level of HBV VH among healthcare workers in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study to evaluate the psychometric properties of a modified version of the VH Scale among 213 healthcare workers in Ghana. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized. An orthogonal rotation (varimax) was employed along with Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The validity and reliability of the modified scale were assessed, and ANOVA was used to assess the performance of the scale in the study population. All model estimations were performed using IBM SPSS Version 27, and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: The study confirmed two factors, namely, lack of confidence and risk. The reliability of the scale was high at 0.8 (α = 0.962 for lack of confidence and 0.786 for risk subscales). Overall, 81.9 % explained the variance, with 70.31% and 11.6% explained by the lack of confidence and risk subscales, respectively. The construct validity was supported by a low VH score among individuals who were vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus. The modified scale performed well, demonstrating a statistically significant difference in the VH scores for the work unit or department and religion. Conclusion: The findings of this study illustrate that the modified VHS for hepatitis B vaccination has adequate psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency or reliability as well as construct validity. The modified VH scale can be utilised among healthcare workers to assess their level of acceptance of the hepatitis B virus vaccine in tailored on-site vaccination programs.