Doctors thrust into role of vaccine counsellors

University of Calgary researchers develop Vaccine Hesitancy Guide

Family physicians and other primarycare doctors were “thrust into” the role of being vaccine counsellors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Calgary researchers say.

It’s that responsibility that spurred a team at the university’s School of Public Policy to create the Vaccine Hesitancy Guide, a road map to help doctors navigate difficult conversations with patients who have reservations about being immunized against the novel coronavirus.

To date in Alberta, 75 per cent of those aged 12 and over who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine have received at least one dose, and 61.3 per cent have had both necessary shots. The province launched a $5-million advertising campaign in May to encourage people to get vaccinated, running ads online and in public spaces, as well as sending out mailers to all homes.

A more personal, targeted approach could help boost immunization rates in Alberta, said Myles Leslie, a School of Public Policy assistant professor who helped create the Vaccine Hesitancy Guide.

“There’s an extremely large campaign done at the aggregate level to address vaccine hesitancy issues and concerns across the country. But billboards and even social media are not able to talk directly to people, and are not able to pivot as much as we wish they could for what people are actually thinking and feeling in the moment,” Leslie said during a Wednesday webinar.

“Revisiting a topic with someone who not only has medical expertise but is seen as a trusted expert in areas of health and well-being is sort of the absolute inverse of a billboard.”

Not all primary-care experts are trained or equipped to talk to patients about specific concerns with COVID19 vaccines, however. Leslie said his team developed the Vaccine Hesitancy Guide to help physicians approach the often-thorny conversations with compassion.

On accessing the guide, physicians are greeted with bold text asking, “Are your patients hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine?”

From there, they can look up various “hesitancy types” identified by researchers, ranging from those with specific hesitancies — such as concerns over safety or misinformation, including worries an mRNA vaccine could alter their DNA — to broader hesitancies about the vaccine or the severity of the pandemic. Advice is also offered for people who have a fear of needles and those who mistrust the health-care system due to historical traumas.

A physician’s goal should not be to immediately change their patient’s mind, but to start a dialogue, Leslie said.