@article{Riccò_Valente_Dalmonte_Marchesi_Peruzzi_Ballabeni_Prioriello_2022, title={Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among morbid obese individuals: a pilot study}, volume={93}, url={https://mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/actabiomedica/article/view/12386}, DOI={10.23750/abm.v93i3.12386}, abstractNote={<p align="JUSTIFY" dir="LTR"><em>Background and aim. </em>Vaccinations have dramatically impacted on the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As morbid obese (MO) individuals are at high risk for severe complications, their acceptance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is of certain public health interest.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY" dir="LTR"><em>Methods. </em>We investigated the knowledge, attitudes and eventual acceptance of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccination among MO individuals either in waiting list, or recipients of bariatric surgery from a reference center (Parma University Hospital) shortly before the inception of the Italian mass vaccination campaign (March 2021). Data were collected through a web-based questionnaire. Association of individual factors with acceptance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was assessed by means of a logistic regression analysis with eventual calculation of adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR) and corresponding 95% Confidence Intervals (95%CI).</p> <p align="JUSTIFY" dir="LTR"><em>Results. </em>Adequate, general knowledge of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 was found in the majority of MO patients. High perception of SARS-CoV-2 risk was found in around 80% of participants (79.2% regarding its occurrence, 73.6% regarding its potential severity). Acceptance of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccination was reported by 65.3% of participants, and was more likely endorsed by MO patients who were likely to accept some sort of payment/copayment (aOR 5.783; 1.426; 23.456), or who were more likely towards a vaccination mandate (aOR 7.920; 1.995; 31.444).</p> <p align="JUSTIFY" dir="LTR"><em>Conclusions</em>. Around one third of the MO individuals among potential recipient of bariatric surgery exhibited some significant hesitancy towards SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and a rational approach may fail to capture and address specific barriers/motivators in this subset of individuals, stressing the importance for alternative interventions. (www.actabiomedica.it)</p>}, number={3}, journal={Acta Biomedica Atenei Parmensis}, author={Riccò, Matteo and Valente, Marina and Dalmonte, Giorgio and Marchesi, Federico and Peruzzi, Simona and Ballabeni, Lucia and Prioriello , Concetta}, year={2022}, month={Jul.}, pages={e2022234} }