Description
Introduction
Vaccine hesitancy is a persistent challenge in public health, exacerbated by the proliferation of anti-vaccine sentiments facilitated by social networks. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy, designated by the WHO as a top global health threat. This study aims to explore vaccine hesitancy among nursing and midwifery undergraduate students in Switzerland — a cohort crucial to public health given their future roles as healthcare professionals — with a particular emphasis on the HPV vaccine, which exhibits lower confidence levels compared to other vaccines.
Methodology
This study will employ an online questionnaire distributed to nursing and midwifery undergraduate students from various healthcare universities across Switzerland. We will collect data on vaccine hesitancy (general confidence in vaccines and specifically in the HPV vaccine), HPV vaccine history, socio-demographic data, likelihood to recommend the HPV vaccine to patients, perception of vaccination education and interest in complementary medicine.
For this purpose, we chose to use a reliable tool, The Vaccine Confidence Index (VCI) which is used to map vaccine confidence around the world. The VCI assesses confidence in vaccination in terms of perceived efficacy, safety, importance, and compatibility with personal beliefs. These factors are among the key determinants of vaccine hesitancy.
Results and Discussions
Vaccine hesitancy presents a complex and significant challenge to public health efforts worldwide. The impact of misinformation propagated throughout the internet and social media platforms has amplified this concern, undermining vaccination campaigns and threatening herd immunity. In response to this pressing issue, our study will help understanding vaccine hesitancy among nursing and midwifery students in French-speaking Switzerland, contributing to the broader discourse on addressing vaccination skepticism.
Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in patients’ attitudes towards vaccination. The anticipated results of this study have the potential to drive evidence-based interventions to combat vaccine hesitancy among nursing and midwifery students, before their own beliefs have crystallized. Insights into determinants of hesitancy can help inform improvements in curricula and training programs, ultimately strengthening the role of healthcare professionals as vaccine advocates. Moreover, assessing the HPV vaccine coverage within this population informs the need for awareness campaigns to increase vaccination rates and contribute to public health goals. The inclusion of the HPV vaccine, which often attracts higher levels of hesitancy, adds specificity to our investigation, aligning with the global need to improve HPV vaccine acceptance.
The findings, their implications as well as limitations will be discussed from the perspective of previous studies and future research directions may also be highlighted.
Conclusions
The study's findings will contribute to our understanding of vaccine hesitancy among nursing and midwifery undergraduate students, providing insights that can inform targeted interventions and education strategies to bolster vaccine confidence among future healthcare professionals, thereby enhancing public health efforts.
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