Caiata Zufferey, Maria and Bezani, K and Albanese, Emiliano and Amati, Rebecca and Fiordelli, Maddalena and Suggs, S and Fadda, Marta (2022) Healthcare and social workers’ COVID-19 vaccination decision: A qualitative study in Southern Switzerland. In: 19th Biennal European Society for Health and Medical Sociology Conference.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Background. In January 2021, the Swiss government introduced the first covid-19 vaccines and prioritized allocation to healthcare and social workers caring for at-risk individuals. Despite this opportunity, vaccine uptake among healthcare and social workers employed in retirement homes and institutes for people with disabilities was lower than expected. Objectives. This study aimed to capture real-time decision-making concerning the covid-19 vaccine among these workers. Methods. We adopted a qualitative methodology based on Grounded Theory. Semi-structured phone-interviews were conducted with 25 healthcare and social workers employed in retirement homes and institutes for people with disabilities. Data were collected between February and May 2021, i.e., precisely when participants were required to make their vaccination decision or had just made it. Among participants, 18 had just been or were in the process of being vaccinated, while 7 reported they did not intend to do so. Results. For most participants, the vaccination choice was a complex process: information appeared to be lacking and conflicting; numerous moral principles were at stake and contradictory; the way vaccination was organized clashed with the health values to which respondents had been previously exposed; finally, the risk of discrimination loomed over the vaccination choice. In this context of rational and normative uncertainty, participants decided for or against vaccination based on four decision-making processes: identity-driven, traditional-driven, emotional-driven, and reflexive-driven decision making, the latter being the most common within the investigated sample. Conclusion. This study shows that deciding to get vaccinated against covid-19 is a complex and nuanced process and that individuals cannot simply be categorized as either novax or provax based on their vaccination decision. It also highlights the importance of proximity communication, aimed at supporting the individual’s reflexive choice by providing the necessary tools (e.g., quality information, reliable interlocutors, dialogical spaces) to build an informed and reasoned decision.
| Item Type: | Article in conference proceedings or Presentation at a conference (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Social studies |
| Department/unit: | Dipartimento economia aziendale, sanità e sociale > Centro competenze pratiche e politiche sanitarie |
| Depositing User: | Maria Caiata Zufferey |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Jun 2022 09:48 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2023 10:00 |
| URI: | http://repository.supsi.ch/id/eprint/13423 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |