Abstract
BackgroundInformation and opinions shared by health care providers can affect patient vaccination decisions, but little is known about who health care providers themselves trust for information in the context of new COVID-19 vaccines.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate which sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines are trusted by health care providers and how they communicate this information to patients.MethodsThis mixed methods study involved a one-time, web-based survey of health care providers and qualitative interviews with a subset of survey respondents. Health care providers (physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, nurses) were recruited from an integrated health system in Southern California using voluntary response sampling, with follow-up interviews with providers who either accepted or declined a COVID-19 vaccine. The outcome was the type of information sources that respondents reported trusting for information about COVID-19 vaccines. Bivariate tests were used to compare trusted information sources by provider type; thematic analysis was used to explore perspectives about vaccine information and communicating with patients about vaccines.ResultsThe survey was completed by 2948 providers, of whom 91% (n=2683) responded that they had received ≥1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The most frequently trusted source of COVID-19 vaccine information was government agencies (n=2513, 84.2%); the least frequently trusted source was social media (n=691, 9.5%). More physicians trusted government agencies (n=1226, 93%) than nurses (n=927, 78%) or pharmacists (n=203, 78%; P<.001), and more physicians trusted their employer (n=1115, 84%) than advanced practice providers (n=95, 67%) and nurses (n=759, 64%; P=.002). Qualitative themes (n=32 participants) about trusted sources of COVID-19 vaccine information were identified: processing new COVID-19 information in a health care work context likened to a “war zone” during the pandemic and communicating information to patients. Some providers were hesitant to recommend vaccines to pregnant people and groups they perceived to be at low risk for COVID-19.ConclusionsPhysicians have stronger trust in government sources and their employers for information about COVID-19 vaccines compared with nurses, pharmacists, and advanced practice providers. Strategies such as role modeling, tailored messaging, or talking points with standard language may help providers to communicate accurate COVID-19 vaccine information to patients, and these strategies may also be used with providers with lower levels of trust in reputable information sources.
Highlights
BackgroundThe rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a secondary “infodemic” of health information challenges globally [1,2]
There is much literature on health care professionals as a trusted entity for health information among the public, including information about COVID-19 vaccines [8], less is known about who health care professionals themselves trust for health information
18-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 >70 Gender Female Male Other Provider type Physician Advanced practice provider Pharmacist Nurse Race/ethnicity White African American/Black Hispanic/Latinx Asian Native American/Alaskan/Hawaiian Multiple Other Ever had COVID-19 Yes No Unsure Received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccineb Plans to recommend COVID-19 vaccines to patients Will recommend Will recommend if asked Unsure Will not recommend
Summary
BackgroundThe rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a secondary “infodemic” of health information challenges globally [1,2]. The real-time availability of new scientific and health information on COVID-19 has undoubtedly aided pandemic response but has created information challenges for health care providers and the public in navigating misinformation, contradictions, and complexity [5]. Understanding how to effectively navigate a complex health information environment is an essential component of pandemic response for health care providers, who must apply changing information about the COVID-19 pandemic to practice. Having up-to-date pandemic knowledge is essential for health care providers to educate the public, in the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers are challenged to keep pace with ever-growing health information on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 [5]. Information and opinions shared by health care providers can affect patient vaccination decisions, but little is known about who health care providers themselves trust for information in the context of new COVID-19 vaccines
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