Can innovation solve the challenge of vaccine hesitancy?
It’s no secret that vaccine hesitancy is on the rise. But can health innovators do something about it?
A new tool: Researchers have developed a 13-question survey on vaccine hesitancy which helped correctly predict COVID-19 vaccination.
- The questionnaire helped the researchers find that the vaccine-related concerns they uncovered could be categorized into three groups: hesitancy based on beliefs, pain, and deliberation.
- The researchers hope this questionnaire can help providers better counsel patients who may otherwise be uncertain or ambivalent about vaccines.
- Another similar tool was unveiled last year by a team from the University of Cincinnati, which takes an approach that focuses on the idea of risk versus reward in patient decision-making.
A vaccine hesitancy recap: As a refresher, here are some of the indicators of and forces driving vaccine hesitancy across the world right now.
- The rise in vaccine hesitancy has been linked to the growth of vaccine misinformation across social media platforms.
- Childhood vaccination rates are falling across the world.
- One of the most concerning trends in falling childhood vaccination rates is that of waning measles vaccination. Vaccination coverage of >95% is necessary to prevent measles outbreaks, like the ones happening in the southern United States.
However, vaccine hesitancy comes in many forms, ranging from conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical companies’ nefarious intentions to the common fear of needles. Understanding the unique reasons behind an individual’s aversion to vaccinating themselves or their children is crucial to helping them make the right informed, health-forward decisions.
Medtech’s role: The researchers behind these surveys intend for their screening tools to be used by providers during patient visits—much like a questionnaire for mental health concerns or other health-related behaviors.
- Of course, even if this new tool does help providers zero in on how best to counsel their patients on this important public and personal health topic, it risks adding yet another complexity to providers’ already packed care workflows.
- To us, this sounds like an opportunity for medtech to step in and help providers integrate this tool into their process.
- We think of how startups like Yosi Health (whose CEO, Hari Prasad, we recently interviewed) build screening questionnaires into patient intake processes to help providers flag specific topics for counseling early on in a visit.
- We’re eager to see which medtech players may seize the opportunity to help public health workers and researchers fight vaccine hesitancy, one tool and conversation at a time.