Active pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine groups: Their group identities and attitudes toward science.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Maciuszek J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8717991 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:IntroductionAs Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a range of congenital anomalies, pregnant women may be a target population for vaccination in future outbreaks. Their inclusion in vaccine trials is critical to ensure safe and effective vaccines in pregnancy. Though many vaccine candidates are in development, pregnant women's willingness to participate in Zika virus vaccine research is unknown. This study aims to describe pregnant women's attitudes toward Zika virus vaccine research participation, as well as perceived barriers to and facilitators of enrollment.MethodsPregnant and recently postpartum women (n = 128) attending prenatal care at Massachusetts General Hospital completed surveys querying their willingness to participate in four hypothetical Zika virus vaccine trials and their motivations for participation. Demographics, information on prior Zika virus exposure, and vaccine acceptance were collected.ResultsMost women (77%) accepted participation in at least one hypothetical Zika virus vaccine trial, and women were significantly more likely to accept prospective enrollment in an inactivated vaccine trial compared to a live-attenuated vaccine trial (p-value <0.0001) or a nucleic acid-based vaccine trial (p-value <0.0444). Important motivators for participation included evidence from research with pregnant and non-pregnant people, a desire to protect the baby from Zika, perceptions of vaccine safety, and provider recommendation.ConclusionsA majority of women in this cohort were willing to participate in a Zika virus vaccine trial while pregnant, however, differences in acceptance exist between vaccine platforms. The high value placed on evidence by participants highlights the importance of gathering and communicating pregnancy-specific data to potential research participants and their providers. Women's motivations for accepting research participation during pregnancy are important to inform the Zika virus vaccine research agenda, candidate prioritization, and trial design.
| S-EPMC6219626 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a leading cause of severe invasive disease in neonate, elderly, and immunocompromised patients worldwide. Despite recent advances in the diagnosis and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) of GBS infections, it remains one of the most common causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality, causing serious infections. Furthermore, recent studies reported an increasing number of GBS infections in pregnant women and elderly. Although IAP is effective, it has several limitations, including increasing antimicrobial resistance and late GBS infection after negative antenatal screening. Maternal immunization is the most promising and effective countermeasure against GBS infection in neonates. However, no vaccine is available to date, but two types of vaccines, protein subunit and capsular polysaccharide conjugate vaccines, were investigated in clinical trials. Here, we provide an overview of the GBS vaccine development status and recent advances in the development of immunoassays to evaluate the GBS vaccine clinical efficacy.
| S-EPMC6314413 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Limited access to corneal tissue for transplantation remains a challenge in many parts of the world. To date, little attention has been paid to the problem of the cornea donor shortage in Poland, where the number of waiting patients exceeds the number of transplants performed three-fold. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and willingness towards participating in corneal donation among different social groups in Poland. This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted among health professionals, medical students, clerics, teachers, journalists, employees and patients of the District Railway Hospital in Katowice. Online and paper questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic data and information regarding awareness of, knowledge about and attitudes toward corneal donation. For health professionals and medical students, the questionnaires contained additional questions concerning knowledge and solutions for expanding the donor pool. Descriptive analysis and associations were evaluated using the chi2 test. In the survey, 1026 participants took part, including 370 (36.06%, group 1) health professionals and 656 (63.94%, group 2) participants from a non-medical field. A total of 330 (89.18%) from group 1 and 528 (80.49%) respondents from group 2 expressed willingness to donate their corneas. The main reason for refusal of donation in both groups was a lack of knowledge concerning eye donation (7.8%). A social campaign (64.6%) was the most frequently chosen solution for increasing the number of potential donors by health professionals and medical students. In the group of doctors, not knowing how to report a potential donor was chosen as the greatest source of difficulty in donor reporting (40%). In the present study, the willingness to donate one's eyes was substantial in both groups. Social campaigns and improving knowledge concerning the donor reporting process among health professionals might be beneficial in expanding the donor pool.
| S-EPMC8584702 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A physician's recommendation is the most effective published method of motivating HPV vaccination initiation. The emergency department (ED) is the 'public health safety net', and often the only access to care for underserved populations. Recommendation of the HPV vaccine in the ED is a potential avenue to improve vaccination rates among sub-populations who do not have access to routine medical care. We assessed willingness of EM physicians to recommend the vaccine, target high-risk women, and disclose perceived barriers to vaccination in the ED. A cross sectional study using an 11-item survey, was used to assess physician attitudes toward recommending the HPV vaccine in an ED setting to age eligible patients. 67.4% stated they would recommend the vaccine, 23.9% were neutral, and 8.7% would not recommend the vaccine to age eligible patients in the ED. 41% noted lack of adequate reimbursement for vaccination as a barrier to vaccination in the ED (P<0.05). Physicians were comfortable targeting women at high risk for cervical cancer for vaccination (P<0.05). EM physicians are comfortable targeting high-risk women for HPV vaccination in an ED setting. Support of EM physicians in the national effort to improve HPV vaccine uptake is an important step in eradicating a largely preventable yet lethal cancer.
| S-EPMC4977447 | biostudies-other
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the introduction of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions such as precautionary behaviours. The current study used affective priming to evaluate COVID-19 attitudes in vaccine-hesitant and pro-vaccine participants. Explicitly, both groups rated their overall perception of risk associated with contracting COVID-19 significantly lower compared to their perception of necessary precautions and overall adherence to public health measures. Pro-vaccine participants rated their perception of necessary precautions higher compared to vaccine-hesitant participants. During baseline measures, both groups classified COVID-19 affiliated words as unpleasant. Affective priming was observed for congruent prime-target pleasant and unpleasant word pairs but was not observed for COVID-19 related word pairs. Differences between groups in the perception of necessary public health precautions points to different underlying pathways for reduced perceived risk and lack of affective priming. These results refine previous findings indicating that implicit attitudes towards COVID-19 can be measured using the affective priming paradigm.
| S-EPMC10240302 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of general impoverishment is a major problem in some modern societies. However, there is a general opposition to redistribution policies or to the application of a progressive taxation system. The goal of this research was to explore one factor that might drive the attitudes toward income redistribution: The (de)humanization of high socioeconomic status groups. Previous studies have shown that high socioeconomic status groups tend to be considered as unemotional machines without any concern for others. However, the consequences of mechanizing (vs. humanizing) high socioeconomic status on the interpretation of socioeconomic differences has not been explored yet. We considered that humanizing high socioeconomic status groups might have an unexpected negative effect on attitudes about income inequality and wealth concentration. Specifically, this research aims to determine how humanizing high socioeconomic status groups influences people's perceptions of the group's wealth and preferences for income redistribution. We conducted two studies in which we manipulated the humanity (mechanized vs. humanized in terms of their Human Nature traits) of a high socioeconomic status group. Results of these two studies showed that humanizing (vs. mechanizing) high socioeconomic status groups led to lower support for income redistribution/taxation of wealthy groups, through considering that the group's wealth comes from internal sources (e.g., ambition) rather than external ones (e.g., corruption). These results were independent of the group's likeability and perceived competence/warmth. The present research provides valuable insight about the possible dark side of humanizing high socioeconomic status groups as a process that could contribute to the maintenance of the status quo and the legitimation of income inequality in our societies.
| S-EPMC6450225 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Adopting a differentiated threat approach, we investigated the relationship between cultural, economic, and criminal threat on attitudes toward four different ethnic minorities in Germany (Muslims, foreigners, refugees, and Sinti and Roma). We hypothesized that the effect of different types of intergroup threats on ethnic prejudice varies with the perceived characteristics of minority groups. Using a representative sample of German adults, we found that cultural and economic threat primarily predicted attitudes toward Muslims and foreigners, while criminal threat played a minor role in attitude formation among the majority population. For refugees and Sinti and Roma, all three types of intergroup threats were found to be equally important for the prediction of attitudes toward these minority groups. These results are only partially in line with the culture-specific threat profiles of these minority groups in the German context. Therefore, we discuss the tenability of the differentiated threat approach to explain the genesis of ethnic prejudice in different cultural contexts.
| S-EPMC6960202 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly instigated a global pandemic. Vaccine development is proceeding at an unprecedented pace. Once available, it will be important to maximize vaccine uptake and coverage. OBJECTIVE:To assess intent to be vaccinated against COVID-19 among a representative sample of adults in the United States and identify predictors of and reasons for vaccine hesitancy. DESIGN:Cross-sectional survey, fielded from 16 through 20 April 2020. SETTING:Representative sample of adults residing in the United States. PARTICIPANTS:Approximately 1000 adults drawn from the AmeriSpeak probability-based research panel, covering approximately 97% of the U.S. household population. MEASUREMENTS:Intent to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was measured with the question, "When a vaccine for the coronavirus becomes available, will you get vaccinated?" Response options were "yes," "no," and "not sure." Participants who responded "no" or "not sure" were asked to provide a reason. RESULTS:A total of 991 AmeriSpeak panel members responded. Overall, 57.6% of participants (n = 571) intended to be vaccinated, 31.6% (n = 313) were not sure, and 10.8% (n = 107) did not intend to be vaccinated. Factors independently associated with vaccine hesitancy (a response of "no" or "not sure") included younger age, Black race, lower educational attainment, and not having received the influenza vaccine in the prior year. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy included vaccine-specific concerns, a need for more information, antivaccine attitudes or beliefs, and a lack of trust. LIMITATIONS:Participants' intent to be vaccinated was explored before a vaccine was available and when the pandemic was affecting a narrower swath of the United States. Questions about specific information or factors that might increase vaccination acceptance were not included. The survey response rate was 16.1%. CONCLUSION:This national survey, conducted during the coronavirus pandemic, revealed that approximately 3 in 10 adults were not sure they would accept vaccination and 1 in 10 did not intend to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Targeted and multipronged efforts will be needed to increase acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE:Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
| S-EPMC7505019 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 has caused millions of deaths globally, with vulnerable populations such as people experiencing homelessness (PEH) at higher risk. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify the prevalence and key factors contributing to vaccine acceptance experienced by PEH.MethodsThe protocol of this study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023391659). We included studies that reported relevant information about vaccine acceptance or vaccine hesitant/refusal among PEH. Eight databases were systematically searched in January 2023. Meta-analysis was conducted for the prevalence of vaccine acceptance, vaccine uptake, and factors associated with vaccine acceptance. Attitudes toward vaccines were combined into bar charts.ResultA total of 29 papers were included in this systematic review and 19 papers were included for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among PEH was 66% (95%CI: 58%-73%). Our meta-regression showed vaccine acceptance was significantly increased over time. Moreover, subgroup meta-analysis showed that PEH were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine after June 2021 (78%, 95%CI: 65%-86%) compared with earlier period (56%, 95%CI: 54%-59%). Subgroup meta-analysis also revealed that women and participants without underlying medical condition (chronic diseases) were significantly less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to men and those with medical conditions, respectively.ConclusionThe study emphasizes the need for targeted public health interventions aimed at increasing vaccine acceptance among PEH, especially at the early stage of the pandemic, among females, those without underlying medical conditions, being Black (in Canada and the USA), and young people. These interventions should address the common concerns of vaccine safety, adverse effects, effectiveness, and distrust in health care systems. In addition to offering vaccinations in different areas convenient to them, education programs could be established to increase vaccine acceptance among PEH.
| S-EPMC10724884 | biostudies-literature
Project description:For science learning to be successful, students must develop attitudes toward support future engagement with challenging social issues related to science. This is especially important for increasing participation of students from underrepresented populations. This study investigated how participation in inquiry-based biology laboratory classes affected students' attitudes toward science, focusing on deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing signing students in bilingual learning environments (i.e., taught in American Sign Language and English). Analysis of reflection assignments and interviews revealed that the majority of students developed positive attitudes toward science and scientific attitudes after participating in inquiry-based biology laboratory classes. Attitudinal growth appears to be driven by student value of laboratory activities, repeated direct engagement with scientific inquiry, and peer collaboration. Students perceived that hands-on experimentation involving peer collaboration and a positive, welcoming learning environment were key features of inquiry-based laboratories, affording attitudinal growth. Students who did not perceive biology as useful for their majors, careers, or lives did not develop positive attitudes. Students highlighted the importance of the climate of the learning environment for encouraging student contribution and noted both the benefits and pitfalls of teamwork. Informed by students' characterizations of their learning experiences, recommendations are made for inquiry-based learning in college biology.
| S-EPMC5332049 | biostudies-literature