Department of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Aug 31;23(1):1672. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16413-0.
Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are uniquely vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, yet are often excluded from response planning during the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health crises. As part of a larger community- and youth-engaged project through a national network of Prevention Research Centers, our qualitative study sought to describe youth perspectives that influence COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake, and identify youth-driven strategies to guide public health efforts to improve vaccine confidence and access. We conducted focus groups with youth experiencing homelessness (n = 20) and semi-structured interviews with staff members (n = 10) at youth-serving agencies to solicit youth perspectives about COVID-19 vaccination. Focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis. In partnership with youth and cross-sector partners, we distilled eight salient themes that influenced COVID-19 vaccine uptake and confidence among YEH: 1. historical harms and mistrust of systems, 2. access to reliable health information, 3. prioritization of basic needs, 4. personal health influence, 5. barriers to healthcare, 6. fear and uncertainty of the vaccines, 7. sense of bodily autonomy, and 8. community influence. We also identified three youth-driven opportunities to increase COVID-19 vaccination among this population: emphasizing autonomy, leveraging trusted sources of information, and improving vaccine access.Our study elucidates perspectives of YEH on COVID-19 vaccination, and identifies several opportunities to improve youth vaccine confidence and access. It also underscores the importance of centering youth voice in response planning during current and future public health crises.
青年无家可归者（YEH）特别容易感染 COVID-19，但在 COVID-19 大流行和其他公共卫生危机期间，他们往往被排除在应对计划之外。作为通过国家预防研究中心网络开展的一项更大的社区和青年参与项目的一部分，我们的定性研究旨在描述影响 COVID-19 疫苗信心和接种率的青年观点，并确定青年驱动的策略，以指导改善疫苗信心和获取的公共卫生工作。我们在青年服务机构与青年无家可归者（n=20）进行了焦点小组讨论，并与工作人员（n=10）进行了半结构化访谈，以征求青年对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的看法。使用主题定性分析对焦点小组和访谈进行了记录、转录和分析。与青年和跨部门合作伙伴合作，我们提炼出了八个影响 YEH 中 COVID-19 疫苗接种和信心的突出主题：1. 历史伤害和对系统的不信任，2. 获得可靠健康信息，3. 优先考虑基本需求，4. 个人健康影响，5. 获得医疗保健的障碍，6. 对疫苗的恐惧和不确定性，7. 身体自主权意识，8. 社区影响。我们还确定了三个提高这一人群中 COVID-19 疫苗接种率的青年驱动机会：强调自主性、利用可靠的信息来源以及改善疫苗接种途径。我们的研究阐明了 YEH 对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的看法，并确定了一些机会来提高青年的疫苗信心和获取途径。它还强调了在当前和未来的公共卫生危机期间，将青年的声音纳入应对计划的重要性。
