JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Information and opinions shared by healthcare providers can affect patient vaccination decisions, but little is known about who healthcare providers themselves trust for information in the context of new COVID-19 vaccines.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to investigate which sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines are trusted by healthcare providers and how they communicate this information to patients.

Methods:

This mixed methods study involved a one-time, web-based survey of healthcare providers and qualitative interviews with a subset of survey respondents. Healthcare 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 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.

Results:

The survey was completed by 2948 providers, of whom 91% 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 (84.2%, N=2513); the least frequently trusted source was social media (9.5%, N=691). More physicians trusted government agencies (93%, N=1226) than nurses (78%, N=927) or pharmacists (78%, N=203) (P<.01), and more physicians trusted their employer (84%, N=1115) than advanced practice providers (67%, N=95) and nurses (64%, N=759) (P<.01). Qualitative themes (N=32) about trusted sources of COVID-19 vaccine information were identified: processing new COVID-19 information a healthcare 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.

Conclusions:

Physicians have stronger trust in government sources and their employer 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.