1. Vaccination for COVID-19 among historically underserved Latino communities in the United States: Perspectives of community health workers.
- Author
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Garcini LM, Ambriz AM, Vázquez AL, Abraham C, Sarabu V, Abraham C, Lucas-Marinelli AK, Lill S, and Tsevat J
- Subjects
- United States, Humans, Community Health Workers, COVID-19 Vaccines, Vaccination, Hispanic or Latino, COVID-19 prevention & control, Vaccines
- Abstract
A critical step to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is vaccination. We conducted a mixed methods project that used online surveys and focus groups with 64 Community Health Workers and Promotor/as (CHW/Ps) located near the U.S.-Mexico border to identify barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among Latino communities that have been historically underrepresented and medically underserved. Overall, personal barriers to vaccination included mistrust of manufacturers and administrators as well as fear of: becoming infected from the vaccine, discrimination/stigmatization from healthcare professionals administering the vaccine, exploitation/manipulation by the government or health authorities, and having personal information mishandled. Environmental and community barriers included being undocumented and fear-inducing myths and beliefs. Additional barriers included limited information and logistics pertaining to vaccination access. Targeted efforts are needed to overcome barriers in a culturally and contextually sensitive manner to prevent harm and reduce risk of infection among communities that have been historically underrepresented., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Garcini, Ambriz, Vázquez, Abraham, Sarabu, Abraham, Lucas-Marinelli, Lill and Tsevat.)
- Published
- 2022
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