How Acceptance of Vaccination among Healthcare Workers Affects the Acceptance of the General Population?
Keywords:
Healthcare Workers, Vaccine Acceptance, Public Health, Vaccination Uptake, Interventional StudiesAbstract
Introduction:
vaccination is a critical tool in controlling infectious diseases, with healthcare workers (HCWs) playing a key role in influencing public attitudes towards vaccination. This systematic review aimed to assess how the acceptance of vaccination among HCWs affects the vaccination uptake among the general population, highlighting the importance of HCWs in public health initiatives and identifying effective strategies to enhance vaccine acceptance.
Methods:
A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase for interventional studies published in the last five years up to 2022. The review focused on cohort studies and clinical trials that examined the impact of HCWs' vaccination acceptance on the general population's vaccine uptake. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies that presented clear outcomes related to changes in vaccination rates or attitudes among the general population, while exclusion criteria targeted non-interventional studies, reviews, and studies not focusing on the indirect impact on the general population. The selection process involved screening titles and abstracts, followed by full-text reviews, conducted independently by two reviewers.
Results:
Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, covering a range of interventions including educational programs, peer influence models, organizational policy changes, and targeted communication strategies. The interventions demonstrated significant positive impacts on public vaccine uptake, with educational programs and peer influence models showing the strongest associations (risk differences up to 25% and 20%, respectively). Organizational policy changes and targeted communication strategies also positively influenced vaccine acceptance, albeit to a lesser extent.
Conclusions:
The review concludes that interventions targeting HCWs' vaccine acceptance can significantly influence the vaccination rates among the general population. Educational and peer influence interventions were particularly effective, underscoring the potential of leveraging HCWs' influence to improve public health outcomes. These findings provide valuable insights for developing strategies to enhance vaccine uptake, emphasizing the crucial role of HCWs in public health campaigns.
