Informed Decision-Making About COVID-19 Vaccination - Development and Feasibility of a Decision Support Intervention:...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Decision Science

Background:

• Decisional conflict regarding COVID-19 vaccination affected many, especially vulnerable groups.
• Informed decision-making requires accessible and understandable resources.
• Healthcare professionals need training to support patient choices effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot-test a decision support intervention for COVID-19 vaccination.
• To create and evaluate a training program for healthcare professionals delivering the intervention.
• To assess the intervention's comprehensibility, feasibility, and acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and focus groups identified decisional needs.
• Intervention components (patient decision aid, decision coaching) were developed.
• Healthcare professionals received training and participated in focus groups.
• Laypeople tested the intervention via guided interviews.
• Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Training for healthcare professionals was feasible, well-accepted, and effective in building decision coaching competencies.
• The patient decision aid was comprehensible and highly accepted by participants.
• The decision support intervention demonstrated feasibility in pilot testing.
• Low participation and access challenges were noted for vulnerable groups.

Conclusions:

• The developed decision support intervention is a feasible and acceptable tool for aiding COVID-19 vaccination decisions.
• Training healthcare professionals is effective in preparing them to deliver decision support.
• Improving access and engagement with vulnerable populations is crucial for intervention success.