KNOWLEDGE ON COVID-19 BOOSTER OF

UNBOOSTED FIRST-YEAR AND SECOND-YEAR

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS OF
SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PHINMA
By:
Butihen, Stephen
Cueva, Mary Lorraine
Custodio, Junnah Aira
RATIONALE
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) that vaccine

hesitancy is a significant obstacle to developing herd immunity

against COVID19. A survey conducted by Ipsos in collaboration with

the World Economic Forum, vaccination acceptability rates differ

greatly between nations, with China and Russia recording the

highest and lowest acceptance rates, respectively.

RATIONALE
The study conducted by Limbu and Huhmann (2023) identified

important factors, including demographics, geographic influences,

adverse events, etc., ects that have a significant impact on booster

hesitancy.
RATIONALE
The vaccination coverage in the country has reached 91% of the target
eligible population, but the booster uptake remains low at 21% (Why Few
Filipinos Are Taking COVID-19 Booster Shots, 2022).

The Department of Health Region 7 (DOH-7) reported that as of October 3,

over a million people—993, 779—had already received the first dosage of
their booster vaccine. As they want to provide booster doses to a total of
2.7 million people in the region, this corresponds to an achievement rate of
about 36%. Based on the given data there is still 74% percent of Cebu’s
population who have not received their booster shot
RATIONALE
In this study it can help determine the knowledge among the unboosted students
of Southwestern University PHINMA. Unfortunately, vaccination reluctance may
also apply to booster injections, which would make achieving herd immunity even
more difficult.

In conclusion, the study "Knowledge of Unboosted Students on COVID-19

Boosters of Southwestern University PHINMA" might offer insightful information

on the student population's awareness and understanding of the significance of

booster shots.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Many Filipinos, especially the most vulnerable, are reluctant to receive

teh prescribed booster doses of their immunizations. The COVID-19

hospital census at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for April 2022

revealed that for every 100 patients in for COVID-19, 59% had not yet

received any vaccine dosage, and 37% had not yet received their

booster (Berba, 2023)

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are several factors contributing to this "unconvinced" attitude,

including misinformation about the vaccines, preferences for specific

vaccine brands, and cultural/religious beliefs that contradict scientific

and health advice (Cordero, 2022). Among all the factors,

misinformation is relevant to people in all ages. Adequate information

and education is necessary to change the perspective of these

individuals.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Rahman et al. in 2022 conducted a study. The majority

reported positive knowledge and attitudes towards the

vaccine, with 54.34% agreeing it was safe and effective,

and 43.88% believing it could stop the pandemic.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A community-based study was conducted among the

students and faculty of Ajman University where the

respondents’ knowledge and attitude to the third COVID-19

vaccine booster dose was evaluated. The study involved 614

participants and found that the average knowledge score

was 44.6%.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

With younger age groups who might not be aware of their

eligibility, this uncertainty may be delaying the uptake of
booster doses. To guarantee that all fully immunized individuals
may get the additional protection they require against COVID-
19, clear communication and education regarding the eligibility
requirements for booster doses are required.
 THE PROBLEM
The study aims to determine the level of knowledge on COVID-19 boosters of
unboosted first-year and second-year medical technology student of Southwestern
University PHINMA academic year 2022-2023.

Specifically, this study will answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age;
1.2 Sex;
1.3 Year level; and
1.4 Religion?
2. What is the level of knowledge on COVID-19 boosters of the respondents?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the level of knowledge on COVID-19
booster and the demographic profiles of the respondents?
 METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The researchers used a descriptive design in quantitative approach
to determine the knowledge on COVID-19 boosters of unboosted first-year
and second-year medical technology students at Southwestern University
PHINMA.

Research Environment
The study was conducted at Southwestern University PHINMA, which
is located in Villa Aznar, Urgello Street, Sambag II, Cebu City, Cebu,
Philippines. As well as each student's residence.
 METHODOLOGY
Respondents of the Study
The respondents of this study were the unboosted first-year and
second-year Medical Technology students at Southwestern University
PHINMA of academic year 2022-2023, that were selected using Snowball
sampling.

Research Instrument
The main tool that was used in gathering the data for this study is
the researchers-made survey questionnaire about their knowledge on
COVID-19 boosters which was validated by three medical professionals and
has an Alpha of 0.793 obtained through reliability statistics
METHODOLOGY
Data Gathering
METHODOLOGY
Data Analysis
The tallied data was computed into statistical analysis, then
interpreted the numerical data that was collected from the 30-item
questionnaire about the COVID-19 booster information.

Differential statistical tools used for data interpretation:

Pearson's correlation coefficient
Spearman's correlation coefficient
Chi-squared test
METHODOLOGY

Ethical Considerations
The participant’s informed consent was first obtained
to ensure their willingness to participate in the study. The
Data Privacy Act of the Philippines (RA 10173) is served as a
reference for the procedures used in this investigative
process.
 CHAPTER II

The Problems and its Findings

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age;
1.2 Sex;
1.3 Year level; and
1.4 Religion?
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
Out of the 204 respondents, in terms of age, mostly of the
respondents were 18 years of age (44.1%). In terms of sex,
the majority of the unboosted respondents in the university
were female, accounting to 65.7%. 77.0% of the respondents
were first-year while 23.0% were second-year, this analysis
implies that the majority who responded to the questionnaire
are first-year. And among these respondents, majority are
Catholic as their religion, representing 79.4% of the sample,
while the remaining 20.6% identify as non-Catholic.
 CHAPTER II

The Problems and its Findings

2. What is the level of knowledge on COVID-19 boosters of the

respondents?
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II

The majority of the respondents answered majority of the

questions correctly. Six questions were answered correctly by
more than seventy-five percent (>75%) of the respondents
while the remaining sixteen questions were answered
≤
correctly by equal to or less than seventy percent ( 70%) of
the respondents.
CHAPTER II
Seventy-five (75) of the respondents scored above twenty
(20) points, amounting to 36.8% of the sample. While one
hundred-four (104) of the students scored fifteen to nineteen
(15-19) points, representing 51.0% of the sample, whereas
fourteen (14) of the students scored eight to fourteen (8-14),
amounting to 6.9% of the sample. And 5.4% of the sample,
that is eleven (11) students scored zero to seven (0-7).
 CHAPTER II

The Problems and its Findings

3. Is there a significant relationship between the level of

knowledge on COVID-19 booster and the demographic profiles of

the respondents?
CHAPTER II
Age
The computed correlation coefficient (r) is -0.034 with a p-value of
0.626, which means that there is not enough evidence to reject the null
hypothesis (Ho) that there is no significant relationship between age and
level of knowledge.

Sex
The computed chi-square (Χ2) value is 11.928 with a p-value of 0.018,
which is less than the significance level of 0.05. Therefore, there is
enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis (Ho) that there is no
significant relationship between sex and level of knowledge.
CHAPTER II
Year Level
The computed correlation coefficient (Rho) is -0.057 with a p-value of
0.419, which means that there is not enough evidence to reject the null
hypothesis (Ho) that there is no significant relationship between year
level and level of knowledge.

Religion
the computed chi-square (Χ2) value is 5.276 with a p-value of 0.260,
which is greater than the significance level of 0.05. Therefore, there is
not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis (Ho) that there is no
significant relationship between religion and level of knowledge.
CHAPTER II
Abullais et al. (2022) conclude that sex has a slightly significant relation
to level of knowledge, it states that “Participants from male, young age
group and residing in the rural area revealed a slightly better level of
knowledge”.

HOWEVER,

On Jairoun et al. (2022) study, there was no significant relationship

between sex and knowledge on COVID-19 booster, but a higher number
of females are knowledgeable compared to male.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The demographic shows that the greater number of unboosted

students who participated in the study are 18 years old and majority
are female. Moreover, the majority of unboosted students who
participated are first-year and majority are Catholic.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The results show that, in terms of the respondents’ knowledge on

COVID-19 booster, the majority of the questions were answered
accurately by the respondents. Thus, the majority performed
averagely while a number of the respondents performed below
average.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The study shows that there is a significant relationship between

the level of knowledge of unboosted first-year and second-year
medical Technology students on COVID-19 booster and the
demographic variable “sex” of the respondents.
CONCLUSIONS
The unboosted first-year and second-year Medical Technology
students who participated in the study have a “fair” understanding
about COVID-19 boosters but still evidently needs a broad
knowledge and understanding about the subject.

It is also concluded in the study that only sex is the demographic

profile that is relevant to the level of knowledge of the unboosted
first-year and second-year Medical Technology students on COVID-
19 boosters.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Provide accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines and booster to
the students. Through various channels specifically in educational
materials.
2. Informative sessions regarding vaccines and boosters should be
conducted by healthcare professional from time-to-time.
3. Relate the level of knowledge on COVID-19 boosters to the booster rate
of the community.
4. Conduct further research, involving other variable such as; education
attainment, ethnicity, source of information about the topic, place of
residency (urban or rural).
RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Conduct further study focusing on the main factors hindering

vaccination acceptance.
6. Future researchers may use these following titles:
The impact of Knowledge Level of the Student on Acceptance
Towards COVID-19 Booster: A Quantitative Analysis.
How Knowledge Influences Acceptance: An Analysis of the

Relationship between Knowledge Level and Acceptance on

COVID-19 Booster Dosage of [Specific Respondents].

Unboosted Students' Knowledge Level on COVID-19 Booster in

Relationship to Vaccine Hesitancy

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acceptance toward the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine among patients visiting dental
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Berba, R. P. (2023). Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy during the COVID19 Pandemic: Learning
from the Past and Moving Forward. Acta Medica Philippina, 57(1).
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https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/467425/close-to-1m-inregion-7-received-booster-dose
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REFERENCES
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APPENDICES
Appendix A
Sample Approval Letter to the Dean
 Appendix B
Sample Research Questionnaire
 Appendix B
Sample Research Questionnaire
 Appendix C
Sample Validation Letter with Validation Tool
 Appendix C
Sample Validation Letter with Validation Tool
 Appendix D
Sample Letter to the Respondents
Appendix E
Gannt Chart
 Appendix F
Raw Copy of Statistical Analysis
 Appendix F
Raw Copy of Statistical Analysis
 Appendix F
Raw Copy of Statistical Analysis
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