Vaccination hesitancy: To be vaccinated, or not to be vaccinated, that is the question in the era of COVID-19.
Cecilia Perrone, Elena Fiabane, Marina Maffoni and 4 others
PMID 36168152WHAT IT FOUND
Italian vaccine-hesitant adults described a perceived lack of control as the main barrier to vaccination.
Anxiety about side effects and family influence were prominent. Participants who vaccinated despite hesitation did so primarily to remove social restrictions rather than due to changed beliefs.
Key findings
01The main theme of hesitancy was the perceived lack of control, which included distrust of the government, infodemic, the influence of family, and general anti-vax opinions.
02Anxiety was the most prevalent emotion at 57.5%, referring to concerns and worries about possible side effects of the vaccine.
03Participants who were hesitant but vaccinated underwent vaccinations only because this was a means of overcoming constraints.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small and non-representative of the entire country. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling from the authors' networks, which may introduce bias. The majority of participants were women, limiting generalizability to men. The study was conducted only in Northern Italy, where pandemic conditions may differ from other regions.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the themes as evidence that specific communication strategies reduce vaccine hesitancy. This study describes the feelings of 40 individuals at a specific time and does not test any intervention or prove that nurses can change these attitudes.