IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i23p15863-d987159.html

Some searches may not work properly. We apologize for the inconvenience.

   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among U.S. Veterans Experiencing Homelessness in Transitional Housing

Author

Listed:
  • June L. Gin

    (Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA 91343, USA)

  • Michelle D. Balut

    (Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA 91343, USA)

  • Aram Dobalian

    (Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA 91343, USA
    Division of Health Services Management and Policy, The Ohio State University College of Public Health, 250 Cunz Hall, 1841 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

Abstract

Little is known about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among individuals experiencing homelessness, despite their higher risk for morbidity and mortality from SARS-CoV-2. This study examines COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and uptake among U.S. military Veterans experiencing homelessness enrolled in transitional housing programs funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Telephone interviews were conducted with 20 Veterans in California, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, USA (January–April 2021). A rapid analysis approach was used to identify and enumerate commonly occurring themes. Although 60% of interviewed Veterans either received the COVID-19 vaccine or were willing to do so, one-third expressed hesitancy to get vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccination attitudes (e.g., belief that the vaccines were inadequately tested), military experience, beliefs about influenza and other vaccines, and sources of information emerged as influential factors for COVID-19 vaccination uptake or hesitancy. Veterans in VA-funded homeless transitional housing programs are generally willing to be vaccinated. However, a substantial minority is reluctant to take the vaccine due to concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine and distrust of authority. Recommendations for increasing uptake include utilizing Veteran peers, homeless service providers, and healthcare providers as trusted messengers to improve confidence in the vaccine.

Suggested Citation

  • June L. Gin & Michelle D. Balut & Aram Dobalian, 2022. "COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among U.S. Veterans Experiencing Homelessness in Transitional Housing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15863-:d:987159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/15863/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/15863/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tsai, J. & Kasprow, W.J. & Rosenheck, R.A., 2013. "Latent homeless risk profiles of a national sample of homeless veterans and their relation to program referral and admission patterns," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(S2), pages 239-247.
    2. Zlotnick, C. & Zerger, S. & Wolfe, P.B., 2013. "Health care for the homeless: What we have learned in the past 30 years and what's next," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(S2), pages 199-205.
    3. Abolfazl Mollalo & Moosa Tatar, 2021. "Spatial Modeling of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-14, September.
    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. Abolfazl Mollalo & Alireza Mohammadi & Sara Mavaddati & Behzad Kiani, 2021. "Spatial Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Zhong, Yan & Sang, Huiyan & Cook, Scott J. & Kellstedt, Paul M., 2023. "Sparse spatially clustered coefficient model via adaptive regularization," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Cory Anderson & Shuai Zhou & Guangqing Chi, 2023. "Population-Wide Vaccination Hesitancy among the Amish: A County-Level Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Adoption and Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Alison L. Weightman & Mark J. Kelson & Ian Thomas & Mala K. Mann & Lydia Searchfield & Simone Willis & Ben Hannigan & Robin J. Smith & Rhiannon Cordiner, 2023. "Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta‐analysis and thematic synthesis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), June.
    5. Ivis García & Keuntae Kim, 2020. "“ I Felt Safe ”: The Role of the Rapid Rehousing Program in Supporting the Security of Families Experiencing Homelessness in Salt Lake County, Utah," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Lin-Yun Wang & Lan-Ping Lin & Yun-Cheng Chen & Tai-Wen Wang & Jin-Ding Lin, 2020. "Correlates of Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Older Homeless Adults Using the 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-14, July.
    7. Aloyce R. Kaliba & Donald R. Andrews, 2023. "The Impact of Meso-Level Factors on SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Early Hesitancy in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-27, July.
    8. Daniel Badell & Jesica de Armas & Albert Julià, 2022. "Impact of Socioeconomic Environment on Home Social Care Service Demand and Dependent Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Giuseppe Pangan & Victoria Woodard, 2024. "A Study Examining the Impact of County-Level Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Political Affiliation Characteristics on COVID-19 Vaccination Patterns in Indiana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(7), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Krzysztof Czaderny, 2023. "Explaining Life-Course Differences in Homeless Men Using Family-of-Origin Theory," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 221-231, June.
    11. Petrovici, Norbert & Belbe, Stefana (Ștefana) & Mare, Codruta (Codruța) & Cotoi, Calin (Călin), 2023. "Hybrid health regimes: Access to primary care physicians and COVID-19 vaccine uptake across municipalities in Romania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    12. Alison L. Weightman & Mark J. Kelson & Ian Thomas & Mala K. Mann & Lydia Searchfield & Ben Hannigan & Robin J. Smith & Simone Willis & Rhiannon Cordiner, 2022. "PROTOCOL: Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta‐analysis and thematic synthesis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), March.
    13. Basim Aljohani & Randolph Hall, 2024. "Optimizing the Selection of Mass Vaccination Sites: Access and Equity Consideration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-19, April.

    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:23:p:15863-:d:987159. 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.