From Monitoring the Commitment to Inoculations among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic to Overcoming Communication Risks in the Process of Vaccination

Abstract

Introduction: The epidemic process of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can be managed only through vaccination. Yet, despite the availability of effective immunobiological preparations, health administrators often face a negative attitude of the population, including healthcare professionals, to vaccination. Objective: To establish commitment of workers of health facilities to vaccination against COVID–19 during different periods of the pandemic using modern online resources and to justify the need to develop effective practices of dealing with communicative risks in the course of vaccination. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in several successive stages corresponding to five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Russian Federation by means of an online survey of 5,304 health workers using Google Forms. We applied sociological and statistical methods of research. Results: We observed that the attitude to vaccination against COVID-19 among the employees of health institutions was ambiguous and changed over time demonstrating a gradual increase in adherence to inoculations. The potential risk group with a negative attitude towards vaccination included female nurses and workers of non-medical specialties with less than five years of work experience. An insufficient level of commitment to coronavirus vaccination among the personnel of health facilities has been also noted in other countries, which is a serious problem on a global scale hindering the victory over this novel infection. Conclusion: We assessed commitment to inoculations against COVID-19 among medical workers using modern online resources and found its inadequate level necessitating effective interventions aimed at awareness raising and training in modern practices of effective communications. © 2023, Federal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology. All rights reserved.