COMMON BARRIERS IN PATIENTS

Mistrust

¡ Point to your own experiences and perhaps support vaccinations by discussing your own confidence with them.

¡ Gather support from the fact that most of the money made within the pharmaceutical market comes outside of vaccines (vaccines offer little profit to pharmaceutical companies).

Safety

¡ Have supporting data and studies to point to when misinformation related to such conditions comes up in vaccine conversations.

¡ While it is not expected or recommended to know every detail of a vaccines ingredients it would be helpful to know about certain concerns parents may have such as thimerosal and aluminum.

Natural lifestyle

¡ As a provider, giving information on the functions of a vaccine may help encourage these people to receive a vaccine.

¡ Point out that vaccines enable us to intentionally cultivate these diseases in milder environments.

¡ Providers may want to reinforce that vaccines teach the body to fight illnesses naturally and it gives the body tools to build up its own immunity against a particular disease.

Communication

§ One size does not fit all relating to communicating with patients. Their hesitancy, life context, and values will be very different ranging from an unquestioning acceptor to an outright refuser.

§ Good communication Includes offering a discussion and identifying the barriers of patients over a certain length of time that will hopefully build trust and identify future concerns

§ Avoid the “this is what you need” discussion and focus more on the reasons for getting a vaccine.

§ Compassion and active listening are good tools providers can use when discussing vaccinations and may include listening to parents/patients' personal experiences and offering you an understanding of their hesitancy.

§ It is important to be aware of your own individual biases when it comes to vaccinations and see conversations as an opportunity to educate and build trust.

Education

§ Being able to chart some of that information and providing literature for community members about the benefits to them (not just vaccine information) to read on their own time are important (information sharing centers on the EUAs, VIS forms, CDC parent guides to immunizations).

Motivational Interviewing

§ Motivational Interviewing (MI) technique is used by health care professionals to harness people’s innate drive for change

§ Discussing data in layperson terms and being able to avoid telling the person what to do and focusing on the why.

§ When parents/patients are hesitant to receive a vaccine, you may explore and use MI techniques to best determine the causes of vaccine hesitancy. It is best not to talk a patient into making a change or making them feel bad about their behavior but to respond with empathy and support.

§ Avoid the “this is what you need” discussion and focus more on the reasons for getting a vaccine .

§ Compassion and active listening are good tools providers can use when discussing vaccinations and may include listening to parents/patients' personal experiences and offering you an understanding of their hesitancy.

§ The goal of MI should include getting patients to build their intrinsic motivation to make behavioral changes

§ MI is about asking open questions, practicing reflexive listening (affirming and summarizing), dealing with denial, and asking for permission to provide information in nonrigid framework.