Drug and Alcohol Services, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.
Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2023 Nov 29;45(4):e729-e736. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad181.
People with substance use disorder are at high risk of harms from COVID-19 infection. Vaccine hesitancy is common in this population and compounds pre-existing barriers to accessing health care. A drug and alcohol service in Sydney, Australia introduced strategies to enhance COVID-19 vaccination in people receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). We report vaccination outcomes and staff experiences of this.
This mixed methods study (i) retrospectively evaluated vaccine uptake in people accessing OAT and (ii) explored perceptions of staff who delivered vaccination interventions through surveys and semi-structured interviews.
Of the 984 patients receiving OAT on 9 December 2021, 90.9% had received the first COVID-19 vaccination and 86.7% the second. Australia wide vaccination rates on that date were 93.1% and 88.7% for first and second doses, respectively. Staff commented that having a deep knowledge, understanding and connection with the patient group drove implementation and success of vaccination interventions. This was further supported by staff engagement with the vaccination interventions, and communication and sharing information, both between staff and with patients.
High rates of COVID-19 vaccination can be achieved in a vulnerable population. Engaged staff providing information and facilitating access to healthcare underpin this success.
患有物质使用障碍的人感染 COVID-19 的风险很高。该人群普遍存在疫苗犹豫情绪，这加剧了他们原本就难以获得医疗保健的问题。澳大利亚悉尼的一家毒品和酒精服务机构引入了策略，以提高接受阿片类激动剂治疗（OAT）的人群的 COVID-19 疫苗接种率。我们报告了这项工作的疫苗接种结果和工作人员的经验。
这项混合方法研究（i）回顾性评估了接受 OAT 的人群的疫苗接种率，（ii）通过调查和半结构化访谈探索了提供疫苗接种干预的工作人员的看法。
在 2021 年 12 月 9 日接受 OAT 的 984 名患者中，90.9%已接种第一剂 COVID-19 疫苗，86.7%已接种第二剂。在该日期，澳大利亚全国第一剂和第二剂疫苗接种率分别为 93.1%和 88.7%。工作人员评论说，对患者群体有深入的了解、理解和联系，推动了疫苗接种干预措施的实施和成功。工作人员对疫苗接种干预措施的参与、以及工作人员之间和与患者之间的沟通和信息共享，进一步支持了这一点。
在弱势群体中可以实现高 COVID-19 疫苗接种率。积极参与提供信息和促进获得医疗保健的工作人员是成功的关键。
