Evaluation of a Medical Student Workshop on Confronting Vaccine Hesitancy: A Mixed Methods Approach

Undergraduate medical education provides limited formal training on vaccine hesitancy. This study evaluated a student-led workshop for third-year medical students on vaccine hesitancy, emphasizing historical mistrust in Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities and strategies to build confidence in addressing it.

During a family medicine clerkship rotation, 158 students completed a 90-minute workshop on vaccine hesitancy. The session addressed systemic racism and introduced three evidence-based communication tools, followed by role-play practice. At the end of the clerkship, semistructured focus groups explored the intervention's impact on participants' approaches to vaccine hesitancy. Students also completed pre- and postworkshop surveys to assess attitudes, confidence, and skills regarding vaccine hesitancy.

Focus group analysis revealed five major themes: (1) variability in formal education addressing vaccine hesitancy; (2) the workshop's positive impact on students' skills, knowledge and confidence surrounding vaccine hesitancy; (3) opportunities to improve vaccine hesitancy education; (4) barriers to vaccine acceptance and administration; and (5) the value of student-led workshops and peer learning. Survey results demonstrated a statistically significant increase in students self-reported confidence in the ability to influence vaccine-hesitant individuals, educate patients on vaccination benefits, communicate effectively with hesitant patients, and dispel common vaccine myths (P<.001).

Medical students receive limited formal education in vaccine hesitancy. Preliminary results suggest that this student-led workshop effectively increased students' confidence in addressing vaccine-hesitant patients and their awareness of vaccine hesitancy in BIPOC and other minority communities. Other institutions could adapt similar curricula for health professional students, trainees, or clinicians.