A recently published paper, co-authored by IIHR’s co-founders, illustrates the kinds of interdisciplinary, rigorous, mixed-method research that the institute will support and promote. With Drs. George and Rosenberg as lead, a team of two public health faculty, two psychology faculty, and two psychology MA students examined reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We sought to answer the question: What social psychological justifications emerge from vaccine-hesitant people’s explanations of their decisions to remain unvaccinated?
A truly collaborative effort, Drs. George and Rosenberg initiated the research design, receiving participant recruitment and interview assistance from Dominican University undergraduate students. In total, we conducted 18 interviews with vaccine-hesitant people, asking questions including, “Why have you decided to remain unvaccinated from COVID-19?” and “Where do you get a lot of your information about COVID and the vaccine? Can you give me some examples of resources?”
The two MA students conducted systematic qualitative data analysis, examining the open-ended responses for themes pertaining to participants’ motivations for remaining unvaccinated. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes: rationalization (i.e., the rationale for not getting vaccinated); identity, beliefs, and potential modifiers (i.e., aspects of participants’ identity that explained their decision); emotional responses (i.e., heightened emotionality toward the vaccine); and information sources (i.e., where participants’ anti-vaccination views originated).
By using a qualitative approach, our work adds to a growing body of literature aimed at understanding the complexities underlying people’s vaccination decisions. This nuanced picture is impossible to uncover without work that crosses disciplinary boundaries.
The novelty of our data highlights the types of questions and research approaches the IIHR can foster. We envision faculty from areas as diverse as psychology, public health, humanities, biology, and nursing – among others – collaborating on research with the common goal of understanding human health and well-being.
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