TY - JOUR
T1 - A qualitative investigation of facilitators and barriers to accessing COVID-19 vaccines among Racialized and Indigenous Peoples in Canada
AU - Aylsworth, Laura
AU - Manca, Terra
AU - Dubé, Ève
AU - Labbé, Fabienne
AU - Driedger, S. Michelle
AU - Benzies, Karen
AU - MacDonald, Noni
AU - Graham, Janice
AU - MacDonald, Shannon E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) and operating grant VR5-172700. The funders played no role in the conduct of the study. We extend our thanks to those who provided support on development of the interview guide, data collection, translation, interpretation of findings, and/or manuscript preparation, including: Eunah Cha, Keith King, Caroline Foster-Boucher, Reagan Bartel, Samantha Meyer, Devon Greyson, Robin Humble, Jeanna Parsons Leigh, Joan Robinson, Emmanuel Marfo, Kaylee Kim, Julia Wolf, Jackie Libon, Benjamin Malo, and Mary-Lou Malo. We also thank Ali Assi for his extensive support in study coordination.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Structural and systemic inequalities can contribute to susceptibility to COVID-19 disease and limited access to vaccines. Recognizing that Racialized and Indigenous Peoples may experience unique barriers to COVID-19 vaccination, this study explored early COVID-19 vaccine accessibility, including barriers and potential solutions to vaccine access, for these communities in Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews about challenges to accessing COVID-19 vaccination with Racialized and Indigenous Peoples, including linguistic minorities and newcomers, in Spring 2021, just as COVID-19 vaccines were becoming more widely available in Canada. Participants were purposely selected from respondents to a Canadian national online survey. Three researchers analyzed the interviews for emergent themes using a descriptive content analysis approach in NVivo. At the time of the interview, interview participants (N = 27) intended to receive (n = 15) or had received (n = 11) at least one vaccine dose, or did not state their status (n = 1). Participants described multiple barriers to COVID-19 vaccination that they personally experienced and/or anticipated they or others could experience–including technology requirements, language barriers, lack of identification documentation, and travel challenges–as well as related solutions. These were organized into three broad categories: 1) COVID-19 disease and vaccination information, 2) vaccination booking procedures, and 3) vaccination sites. These structural and systemic barriers during the initial months of vaccine rollout substantially restricted participants’ COVID-19 vaccination access, even when they were eager to get vaccinated, and should be addressed early in vaccine rollouts to facilitate optimal uptake for everyone everywhere.
AB - Structural and systemic inequalities can contribute to susceptibility to COVID-19 disease and limited access to vaccines. Recognizing that Racialized and Indigenous Peoples may experience unique barriers to COVID-19 vaccination, this study explored early COVID-19 vaccine accessibility, including barriers and potential solutions to vaccine access, for these communities in Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews about challenges to accessing COVID-19 vaccination with Racialized and Indigenous Peoples, including linguistic minorities and newcomers, in Spring 2021, just as COVID-19 vaccines were becoming more widely available in Canada. Participants were purposely selected from respondents to a Canadian national online survey. Three researchers analyzed the interviews for emergent themes using a descriptive content analysis approach in NVivo. At the time of the interview, interview participants (N = 27) intended to receive (n = 15) or had received (n = 11) at least one vaccine dose, or did not state their status (n = 1). Participants described multiple barriers to COVID-19 vaccination that they personally experienced and/or anticipated they or others could experience–including technology requirements, language barriers, lack of identification documentation, and travel challenges–as well as related solutions. These were organized into three broad categories: 1) COVID-19 disease and vaccination information, 2) vaccination booking procedures, and 3) vaccination sites. These structural and systemic barriers during the initial months of vaccine rollout substantially restricted participants’ COVID-19 vaccination access, even when they were eager to get vaccinated, and should be addressed early in vaccine rollouts to facilitate optimal uptake for everyone everywhere.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Indigenous Peoples
KW - Racialized Peoples
KW - access
KW - equity
KW - vaccine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139755743&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21645515.2022.2129827
DO - 10.1080/21645515.2022.2129827
M3 - Journal Article
C2 - 36218335
AN - SCOPUS:85139755743
SN - 2164-5515
VL - 18
JO - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
JF - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
IS - 6
M1 - 2129827
ER -