medwireNews: An online video delivered on mobile phones could help to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and improve uptake among patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), suggest study findings presented at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress.
“EULAR strongly recommends that patients on immunosuppressive therapy should receive COVID-19 vaccination,” but “we still face a herculean challenge addressing vaccine hesitancy,” said Lavanya Rajagopala (The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, UK). She noted that previous studies have identified “lack of confidence regarding the safety of vaccines” as a key barrier to uptake.
To address this, the researchers produced an 8-minute educational video focused on vaccine safety and distributed it to 8886 RMD patients via text message. A total of 2358 individuals watched the video, and 664 (28.1%) completed evaluation forms.
Rajagopala reported that prior to watching the video, 52% of participants said they were unsure whether COVID-19 vaccination was safe and recommended for them. However, after watching the video, 77% answered “agree” or “strongly agree” when asked whether they would be more likely to have a vaccine after watching the video, and 93% believed that the video was a helpful method to share the information.
“This low-cost technology is simple, effective, and well-placed to assist physicians in educating patients in this era when direct face-to-face consultations [are] proving to be increasingly difficult,” concluded the presenter.
medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2021 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group
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