Developing interfaith interventions to address hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccination: protocol for a focus...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology of Religion
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Vaccine hesitancy poses national and international challenges, influenced by factors like religious beliefs and dietary restrictions.
• Existing research often isolates individual faiths, neglecting potential interfaith dynamics in addressing vaccine hesitancy.
• Major UK faith organizations endorse COVID-19 vaccination, yet hesitancy persists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance within diverse faith communities.
• To codesign interfaith interventions aimed at reducing vaccine hesitancy.
• To inform evidence-based strategies for promoting vaccine uptake across different religious groups.

Main Methods:

• Conducting six face-to-face and online focus groups in London with 48 purposively sampled participants from diverse faith backgrounds.
• Utilizing a semistructured topic guide to explore experiences with interfaith dialogue, vaccine hesitancy, and intervention preferences.
• Employing reflexive thematic analysis to systematically analyze qualitative data and identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Focus groups will explore participants' views on vaccine hesitancy, religious beliefs, and potential interfaith interventions.
• A subsequent codesign workshop will facilitate the development of practical interfaith intervention strategies based on preliminary findings.
• Analysis will identify specific barriers and facilitators related to religious beliefs and interfaith dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Findings will inform the development of novel interfaith interventions to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
• The research seeks to bridge gaps in understanding how religious diversity impacts vaccine acceptance.
• Dissemination will target academic journals, the public, and key stakeholders to promote wider adoption of effective interventions.