Information Sources and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Adults with Disabilities
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Date
2023
Authors
McClain, Devan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
People with disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing severe COVID-19 outcomes and should receive vaccinations and boosters to mitigate risk. However, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been previously observed in this population and little is known about its underlying contributors. The purpose of this study is to investigate COVID-19 vaccine and booster hesitancy, sources of public health information, vaccination and hesitance rationales, misinformation susceptibility, and political ideology by expanding upon the 2021 COVID-19 and Vaccine Survey Project from the American Association on Health & Disability. Results found that over 70% of previously-hesitant respondents (n= 32) had received a primary dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and that over 90% of all respondents (n=280) had received a booster. Both the Hesitant and Not Hesitant Groups reported health care professionals as the most trusted source for reliable COVID-19 vaccine information, and the ability to correctly identify COVID- 19 misinformation was related to both information sources and political ideology variables. Findings reinforce the value of health care providers in the provision of accessible and accurate COVID-19 vaccine messaging as a means of combatting misinformation, which aligns with strategies for reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the general population given the emergence of distrust in science during the pandemic. Additionally, because this is the only study to examine the role of information sources and the longitudinal element of vaccine hesitancy among people with disabilities, and public health policymakers will be interested in the proposed programmatic applications of this research on elements of vaccine decision-making.
Description
182 pages
Keywords
public health, disability, COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy, information sources