Trusted Clinicians Can Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy
Research By: Brittany Rosen, PhD, MEd, CHES | Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH
Post Date: February 11, 2024 | Publish Date: Feb. 11, 2024
Adolescent and Transition Medicine | Top Scientific Achievement
Clinician training to address vaccine hesitancy may be effective at promoting positive COVID-19 vaccine perceptions, according to research led by Cincinnati Children’s experts Brittany Rosen, PhD, MEd, Jessica Kahn, MD, and colleagues.
Interested in how families decide to move forward with COVID-19 vaccination for their children, the research team collected survey results from more than 1,100 teens, young adults and parents. The survey asked questions about where participants got their information about COVID-19 and vaccines.
The team found notable differences in intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine among the groups. While just 38% of parents stated they intended to vaccinate their child, nearly 61% of adolescents and more than 65% of young adults indicated an intent to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Looking closer at the parents who were willing to have their children vaccinated, the researchers reported that those with the least amount of vaccine hesitancy also were the most likely to cite reputable medical experts as their primary source of COVID-19 information.
“These findings underscore the potential value of providing focused training to more front-line clinicians as an approach to addressing the misinformation about childhood vaccinations that so many parents receive. Pediatricians remain a trusted source,” Rosen says.
Rosen is part of a research team at Cincinnati Children’s that has been exploring the use of virtual reality tools as a way for clinicians to practice having difficult conversations about vaccine hesitancy. Initial findings from that work appear promising (read more xxxxlinkxxx).
Cincinnati Children’s co-authors on this study included Andrea Meisman and Emmanuel Chandler, Adolescent and Transition Medicine; Quin Sun, Biostatistics and Epidemiology; Francis “Joe” Real and Melissa Klein, General and Community Pediatrics; Lori Crosby, Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology; and Robert Frenck, Infectious Diseases. Alyssa Steller with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine also contributed.
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| Original title: | Factors Associated With Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents, Young Adults, and Parents' Intention to Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine |
| Published in: | American Journal of Health Promotion |
| Publish date: | Feb. 11, 2024 |
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The Research Horizons blog features news and insights about the latest discoveries and innovations developed by the scientists of Cincinnati Children's. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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