Most healthcare workers are accepting of COVID-19 vaccines, citing educational information as most helpful for them when making a decision on whether to receive them, according to research published in March in Vaccine.
The research — led by the University of Minnesota Medical School, National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants, and other organizations — is based on a dual English/Spanish survey distributed to healthcare workers in March and April 2021. Respondents included community health workers, physicians and medical assistants. More than 500 responses were included in the analysis.
Six findings:
1. Eighty-eight percent of survey respondents were accepting of COVID-19 vaccines, meaning they received or definitely intended to receive the shot when available to them.
2. Surveyed healthcare workers serving immigrant communities were more accepting than those who did not.
3. Of the 374 healthcare workers who reported directly interacting with patients, 138 expressed at least one vaccine concern.
4. Survey respondents with vaccine concerns were more likely to report patients with concerns.
5. Survey respondents cited educational information as most helpful for them and their colleagues in making vaccine decisions (39.1 percent), followed by a recommendation from their healthcare provider (37 percent).
6. Handouts were the most preferred method of educational information among surveyed healthcare workers (35.3 percent).
"Healthcare workers, especially those serving [refugee, immigrant and migrant] communities, are vaccine accepting," the researchers concluded. "Tailoring vaccine-related information to healthcare workers may improve vaccine confidence for both themselves and patients who rely on them for information."
Read more about the study here.