IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i17p11120-d907110.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Between Healthcare Practitioners and Clergy: Evangelicals and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Author

Listed:
  • Jeanine P. D. Guidry

    (Media + Health Lab, Robertson School of Media and Culture, Virginia Commonwealth University, 901 W. Main Street, Suite 2216, Richmond, VA 23284, USA)

  • Carrie A. Miller

    (Department of Public Relations, STEM Translational Communication Center, College of Journalism and Communications, UF Health Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Paul B. Perrin

    (School of Data Science, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA)

  • Linnea I. Laestadius

    (Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53205, USA)

  • Gina Zurlo

    (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hamilton, MA 01982, USA)

  • Matthew W. Savage

    (School of Communication, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA)

  • Michael Stevens

    (Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA)

  • Bernard F. Fuemmeler

    (Massey Cancer Center, Department of Health Behavior and Policy, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23219, USA)

  • Candace W. Burton

    (Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA)

  • Thomas Gültzow

    (Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands)

  • Kellie E. Carlyle

    (Department of Health Behavior and Policy, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23219, USA)

Abstract

Evangelical Christians are among the most hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This study examined the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination uptake among Evangelicals is explained by demographic characteristics, Health Belief Model constructs, and faith-based support factors. Survey research firm Qualtrics recruited 531 U.S. adults and conducted a survey to explore predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people who self-identified as Evangelicals in September 2021. A logistic regression showed that those reporting high perceived benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine were more likely to be vaccinated, while those reporting high perceived barriers were less likely to be vaccinated. Those whose healthcare provider asked them about the vaccine were more likely to be vaccinated than those whose healthcare provider did not ask. Finally, while those who reported information seeking from religious leaders were less likely to be vaccinated, those who reported more faith-based support for vaccination were more likely to be vaccinated. In addition to beliefs about benefits and barriers to vaccination, the role of healthcare providers and clergy were important factors influencing vaccination status. Intervention efforts that capitalize on partnerships between health providers and clergy in supportive congregations may be able to reach undecided Evangelicals.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeanine P. D. Guidry & Carrie A. Miller & Paul B. Perrin & Linnea I. Laestadius & Gina Zurlo & Matthew W. Savage & Michael Stevens & Bernard F. Fuemmeler & Candace W. Burton & Thomas Gültzow & Kellie , 2022. "Between Healthcare Practitioners and Clergy: Evangelicals and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:11120-:d:907110
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/11120/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/11120/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Renne, Elisha, 2006. "Perspectives on polio and immunization in Northern Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(7), pages 1857-1869, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sonja Merten & Adriane Martin Hilber & Christina Biaggi & Florence Secula & Xavier Bosch-Capblanch & Pem Namgyal & Joachim Hombach, 2015. "Gender Determinants of Vaccination Status in Children: Evidence from a Meta-Ethnographic Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Rafiq, Mohamed Yunus & Wheatley, Hannah & Salti, Rashid & Shemdoe, Aloisia & Baraka, Jitihada & Mushi, Hildegalda, 2022. "“I let others speak about condoms:” Muslim religious leaders’ selective engagement with an NGO-Led family planning project in rural Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    3. Blair, Robert A. & Morse, Benjamin S. & Tsai, Lily L., 2017. "Public health and public trust: Survey evidence from the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic in Liberia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 89-97.
    4. Burroway, Rebekah & Hargrove, Andrew, 2018. "Education is the antidote: Individual- and community-level effects of maternal education on child immunizations in Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 63-71.
    5. Kasstan, Ben, 2021. "“If a rabbi did say ‘you have to vaccinate,’ we wouldn't”: Unveiling the secular logics of religious exemption and opposition to vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:11120-:d:907110. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.