The Role of Healthcare Professionals’ Negative Emotions in Encounters with Vaccine-Hesitant Patients

Abstract

Although vaccines have been found to be safe and beneficial for global public health, some individuals are hesitant towards vaccines. Previous research has shown that healthcare professionals [HCPs] have important roles in ensuring sufficient vaccine coverage, as they are trusted advisers in encounters with vaccine-hesitant patients. Therefore, it is important to investigate factors that affect HCPs’ vaccination recommendation behaviour. In this study I investigate the associations between HCPs’ negative emotions towards vaccinehesitant patients and their willingness to recommend vaccines, their vaccine attitudes, and their perception of work competence and duty. To the best of my knowledge, this is one of the first studies that focuses on the role of HCPs’ emotions in the vaccination context. In the current study, a sample of 667 HCPs in Finland responded to an electronic survey consisting of questions and statements related to vaccines. The data analysis was conducted utilizing logistic and linear regression. The results showed that HCPs with more negative emotions were more likely to recommend vaccines, to have more positive vaccine attitudes, and to have a stronger perception of work competence and duty. These findings indicate that the emotions that HCPs experience in encounters with vaccine-hesitant patients are associated with how HCPs approach the task of recommending vaccines to these patients. Since the results in this study are correlational, future research should further explore the possible causal relationships between HCPs’ emotions towards vaccinehesitant patients and their vaccine recommendations.