Understanding the barriers and facilitators of vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare workers and healthcare students worldwide: An Umbrella Review

Jemma McCready, Bethany Nichol, Mary Steen, John Unsworth, Dania Comparcini, Marco Tomietto*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)
23 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) and healthcare students display high levels of vaccine hesitancy with impact on healthcare provision, patient safety, and health promotion. The factors related to vaccine hesitancy have been reported in several systematic reviews. However, this evidence needs to be synthesised, as interventions to reduce vaccination hesitancy in this population are needed.

Methods
This Umbrella Review aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators of vaccine hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine for HCWs and healthcare students. The review was performed and reported in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institutes guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A protocol was preregistered on PROSPERO (CRD42022327354). Eight databases were searched from November 2019 to 23rd May 2022 to identify any systematic reviews that explored factors associated with hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine for HCWs or healthcare students.

Results
A total of 31 studies were included in the review. The majority of studies (71%) were appraised as strong or moderate quality and there was a slight degree of overlap (
Conclusion
The results from this Umbrella Review have wide-reaching implications for the research area, healthcare systems and institutions and governments worldwide. Designing tailored strategies for specific occupational groups is pivotal to increasing vaccine uptake and securing a safe healthcare provision worldwide.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0280439
Number of pages41
JournalPLoS One
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Apr 2023

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