tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Prim Care
. 2024 Dec 5;25(1):412.
doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02665-1. When clinicians and patients disagree on vaccination: what primary care clinicians can learn from COVID-19-vaccine-hesitant patients about communication, trust, and relationships in healthcare
Natalie Purcell[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Hajra Usman[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Nicole Woodruff[SUP] 4 5 6 [/SUP], Haley Mehlman[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Leah Tobey-Moore[SUP] 8 9 10 [/SUP], Beth Ann Petrakis[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Karen Anderson Oliver[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Adam Kaplan[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Jeffrey M Pyne[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP], Jennifer K Manuel[SUP] 4 13 [/SUP], Beth M DeRonne[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Dan Bertenthal[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Karen H Seal[SUP] 4 13 14 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: In the United States, discourse on COVID-19 vaccination has become polarized, and the positions of public health officials are met with skepticism by many vaccine-hesitant Americans. This polarization may impact future vaccination efforts as well as clinician-patient relationships.
Methods: We interviewed 77 vaccine-hesitant patients and 41 clinicians about COVID-19 vaccination communication in primary care as part of a Veterans Affairs (VA) trial evaluating a vaccine-communication intervention. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative analysis focused on one aspect of those interviews-the disconnect between primary care clinicians' and patients' perceptions about COVID-19 vaccination communication and decision-making.
Results: Rapid qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed fundamental differences in how clinicians and patients understood and described the reasoning, values, and concerns underlying COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. These differences were significant and value-laden; they included negative judgments that could undermine communication between clinicians and patients and, over time, erode trust and empathy.
Conclusion: We advocate for empathic listening and suggest communication strategies to bridge the divide between clinicians and vaccine-hesitant patients.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; Healthcare communication; Healthcare relationships; Motivational interviewing; Trust; Vaccine hesitancy.
. 2024 Dec 5;25(1):412.
doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02665-1. When clinicians and patients disagree on vaccination: what primary care clinicians can learn from COVID-19-vaccine-hesitant patients about communication, trust, and relationships in healthcare
Natalie Purcell[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Hajra Usman[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Nicole Woodruff[SUP] 4 5 6 [/SUP], Haley Mehlman[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Leah Tobey-Moore[SUP] 8 9 10 [/SUP], Beth Ann Petrakis[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Karen Anderson Oliver[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Adam Kaplan[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Jeffrey M Pyne[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP], Jennifer K Manuel[SUP] 4 13 [/SUP], Beth M DeRonne[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Dan Bertenthal[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Karen H Seal[SUP] 4 13 14 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39633281
- DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02665-1
Background: In the United States, discourse on COVID-19 vaccination has become polarized, and the positions of public health officials are met with skepticism by many vaccine-hesitant Americans. This polarization may impact future vaccination efforts as well as clinician-patient relationships.
Methods: We interviewed 77 vaccine-hesitant patients and 41 clinicians about COVID-19 vaccination communication in primary care as part of a Veterans Affairs (VA) trial evaluating a vaccine-communication intervention. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative analysis focused on one aspect of those interviews-the disconnect between primary care clinicians' and patients' perceptions about COVID-19 vaccination communication and decision-making.
Results: Rapid qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed fundamental differences in how clinicians and patients understood and described the reasoning, values, and concerns underlying COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. These differences were significant and value-laden; they included negative judgments that could undermine communication between clinicians and patients and, over time, erode trust and empathy.
Conclusion: We advocate for empathic listening and suggest communication strategies to bridge the divide between clinicians and vaccine-hesitant patients.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; Healthcare communication; Healthcare relationships; Motivational interviewing; Trust; Vaccine hesitancy.