Division of Epidemiology and Social Sciences, Institute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Front Public Health. 2024 Jul 10;12:1406959. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1406959. eCollection 2024.
Vaccination was a key measure in the COVID-19 pandemic response, though much work was needed to promote vaccine uptake and acceptance. In Kenya, Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) played a key role in vaccine education and promotion. We conducted this study to explore CHVs' experiences of implementing COVID-19 vaccine education and promotion during the pandemic to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in two areas of Kenya.
In a qualitative descriptive study, we conducted 30 structured in-depth interviews with 20 CHVs and 10 Community Health Assistants from rural Kilifi County and Kangemi, an urban informal settlement of Nairobi County in Kenya between April 2022 and July 2022.
Thematic analysis generated five key themes in relation to CHVs' experiences of implementing COVID-19 vaccine education and promotion: Five key themes emerged regarding CHVs' experiences of implementing COVID-19 vaccine education and promotion: (1) vaccine preferences influenced acceptance, (2) the fear of side effects was a barrier, (3) misinformation was widespread (4) lack of trust in government and politicization of vaccines was a barrier, and (5) CHVs' efforts were a facilitator to increased uptake.
Extensive community outreach from CHVs contributed to the high uptake of primary vaccines and boosters during the COVID-19 pandemic. CHVs acting as role models by receiving vaccinations first was particularly important in influencing communities to accept vaccinations. Findings provide evidence for prioritizing CHVs in the planning and implementation of future vaccination initiatives in Kenya and other countries.
疫苗接种是应对 COVID-19 大流行的关键措施，但仍需要做大量工作来促进疫苗接种率和接受度。在肯尼亚，社区卫生工作者（CHVs）在疫苗教育和推广方面发挥了关键作用。我们开展了这项研究，以探索 CHVs 在大流行期间实施 COVID-19 疫苗教育和推广的经验，以提高肯尼亚两个地区的 COVID-19 疫苗接种率。
在一项定性描述研究中，我们于 2022 年 4 月至 7 月在肯尼亚农村基利菲县和内罗毕市非正式住区 Kangemi 对 20 名 CHVs 和 10 名社区卫生助理进行了 30 次结构深入访谈。
与 CHVs 实施 COVID-19 疫苗教育和推广的经验相关，主题分析生成了五个关键主题：CHVs 实施 COVID-19 疫苗教育和推广的经验有五个关键主题：（1）疫苗偏好影响接受度，（2）对副作用的恐惧是一个障碍，（3）广泛存在错误信息，（4）对政府缺乏信任和疫苗政治化是一个障碍，（5）CHVs 的努力是提高接种率的促进因素。
CHVs 的广泛社区外联为 COVID-19 大流行期间主要疫苗和加强针的高接种率做出了贡献。CHVs 通过首先接种疫苗作为榜样，对社区接受疫苗接种的影响尤为重要。研究结果为肯尼亚和其他国家在未来疫苗接种计划的规划和实施中优先考虑 CHVs 提供了证据。
