Light Sophia W, Pack Allison, Vela Alyssa, Bailey Stacy C, Zuleta Andrea, O'Conor Rachel, Wolf Michael S
Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Patient Prefer Adherence. 2022 Aug 25;16:2321-2333. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S378081. eCollection 2022.
Historically marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are demonstrating lower uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. To facilitate the development of culturally tailored, language concordant educational materials promoting COVID-19 vaccination, we first explored older Latinx adults' awareness, attitudes, and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines and factors involved in vaccination decisions within their communities.
Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who self-identified as Latinx/Hispanic, aged 50 and older, and living in Chicago. Eight interviews were conducted in English and seven in Spanish. Thematic analysis was used to analyze participants' responses.
Participants revealed four key factors influencing vaccination decisions: 1. protecting oneself and loved ones (against COVID-19 (n=14), or from perceived dangers of the vaccine (n=9)); 2. trust in authorities (trusting information (n=9), or worrying the vaccine is being manipulated (n=5)); 3. access and availability (gratitude to live in a country where vaccines are available (n=5), or fear of going to vaccination sites due to immigration and insurance status (n=4)); and 4. Employment and semblance of normalcy (vaccination to create opportunities (n=6), or concern about missing out due to side effects (n=9)).
Our findings illuminate key factors influencing decisions for COVID-19 vaccination among Latinx older adults in Chicago. Vaccination information aiming to increase vaccination rates among this important population may benefit from leveraging collective pronouns and spirituality, language concordance, low-tech options, building trust, and addressing insurance and immigration doubts. Next steps include developing educational materials based on these themes, followed by dissemination and evaluation. Lessons learned may be of interest to public health experts responding to the ongoing pandemic and other public health crises experienced by historically marginalized communities.
历史上受疫情影响尤甚的边缘化社区对新冠疫苗的接种率较低。为推动开发符合文化特点、语言一致的促进新冠疫苗接种的教育材料，我们首先探讨了拉丁裔老年成年人对新冠疫苗的认知、态度和信念，以及其社区内影响疫苗接种决策的因素。
对15名自我认定为拉丁裔/西班牙裔、年龄在50岁及以上且居住在芝加哥的参与者进行了个人半结构化访谈。8次访谈用英语进行，7次用西班牙语进行。采用主题分析法分析参与者的回答。
参与者揭示了影响疫苗接种决策的四个关键因素：1. 保护自己和所爱的人（预防新冠（14人），或防范疫苗的潜在危险（9人））；2. 对当局的信任（信任信息（9人），或担心疫苗被操纵（5人））；3. 可及性和可得性（感激生活在有疫苗的国家（5人），或因移民和保险状况而害怕前往接种点（4人））；4. 就业和恢复正常状态（接种疫苗以创造机会（6人），或担心因副作用而错过机会（9人））。
我们的研究结果揭示了影响芝加哥拉丁裔老年成年人新冠疫苗接种决策的关键因素。旨在提高这一重要人群疫苗接种率的疫苗接种信息，可通过使用集体代词和精神信仰、语言一致性、低技术手段、建立信任以及解决保险和移民疑虑而受益。下一步包括根据这些主题开发教育材料，随后进行传播和评估。应对当前疫情及历史上边缘化社区经历的其他公共卫生危机的公共卫生专家可能会对所吸取的经验教训感兴趣。
