Trust in systems, structural gaps in vaccine info: Critical factors that motivate trans, disability communities to go for Covid vaccination, says new…

Transgender and disabled individuals in India face challenges when attempting to obtain vaccines. Because of this, they are often labeled as being hesitant. A need was felt to look into aspects within and outside of the health system which make it difficult for specific communities to decide on vaccination.

A new study published recently in the Journal of Communication in Healthcare sought to understand the role of trust in decisionmaking about Covid-19 vaccine among two communities in India.

The study was conducted at the initiative for Health Equity Advocacy and Research (iHEAR) hosted at the Sangath Bhopal Hub. Funded by Sabin Vaccine Institute, USA, study researchers from iHEAR interviewed 24 community representatives who identify themselves as transgenders or as persons with disability, and 21 key informants.

Key informants were people with knowledge of the vaccination programme, such as vaccine program managers, vaccine providers, and community advocates. We recorded interviews and analyzed them line by line. This was done over the period of more than a year from October 2021 to December 2022. A unique aspect of the project was that it was co-led and co-designed by members of the trans and disabled community who were part of the research team and community advisory board, researchers said.

People from both communities have unique healthcare needs. Understanding how vaccines interact with these unique healthcare needs is crucial to making informed decisions on vaccines. For instance, among trans persons, considerations such as interaction between vaccines and gender-affirmative interventions (e.g. hormone therapy) were significant. Similarly, for the disabled, factors such as their specific disabilities and any comorbidities they may have has played a vital role (eg their disability medication). Additionally, there was a lack of proactive government effort to address these issues in the public sphere, including the use of accessible communication methods to effectively reach these communities, researchers said.

Dr Satendra Singh, study co-investigator and disability justice defender said the recent study highlights the overlooked challenges faced by trans and disability communities in vaccine rollouts, emphasising the imperative of an intersectional approach and addressing communication inequities as pivotal factors in restoring trust and increasing vaccine uptake. We discovered that past negative experiences with the health system have fueled mistrust, while decision-making patterns proved to be dynamic and context-dependent, thus underscoring the critical importance of inclusion in vaccine trials. he said.

Dr Harikeerthan Raghuram, associate director (Health Equity), Sangath, said that, Leaders should stop painting whole communities as people who are not coming forward to get a vaccine. This is because, as the study shows, decisions about whether or not to get vaccinated today are made in the light of negative experiences faced by transgender and disability communities over many decades within and outside of healthcare. To resolve this, we must work to regain that trust step by step, he added.

The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

First uploaded on: 21-04-2024 at 19:48 IST

See the rest here:

Trust in systems, structural gaps in vaccine info: Critical factors that motivate trans, disability communities to go for Covid vaccination, says new...