“It All Goes Back to Trust”: A Qualitative Exploration of Extension Professionals’ Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccines in Rural Florida

Details

• Personal Author:
  Irani T ; Kandzer MS ; Lindsey AB ; Lundy L ; McLeod-Morin A ; Telg R
• Description:
  While urban communities experienced high levels of infection at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities experienced an increase of confirmed cases during the fall months of 2020. Rural Americans were also among the most hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of [State] extension professionals related to the COVID-19 vaccines in rural communities. Qualitative methods were utilized to gather data from extension professionals in rural area of [State], where vaccine uptake was below average. Results revealed frustration with the vaccine process, vaccine norms, and skepticism and mistrust to all be contributing factors to vaccine hesitancy in rural communities. Extension professionals discussed not feeling comfortable discussing topics related to public health with their clientele, citing the topic being outside their expertise. Practical recommendations from this study included utilizing a grassroots approach rather than relying on mass media, providing messages related to the COVID-19 vaccine that focus on education, rather than promotion, and testing new messages before they are disseminated. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Communicable Diseases Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Health Communication COVID-19 Extension Health Communications Information Dissemination Motivated Reasoning Qualitative Analysis Qualitative Research Vaccines
• ISSN:
  2141-2170
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  55-62
• Volume:
  15
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070665
• Citation:
  J Agric Ext Rural Dev 2023 Jan-Mar; 15(1):55-62
• Contact Point Address:
  Ashley McLeod-Morin, Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
• Email:
  ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Florida, Gainesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4c3228fc6d826777c4002bf0641f9efb6a2374979337a562faf7f8b2c9209e205e2801d47f2e1df9ff2c7b0ae9b4c0f87e1b282737e2fb09a7910df45223f083
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208841/cdc_208841_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 516.05 KB ]