(PS1-D100) Therapist Self-disclosure and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many aspects of everyday life, and while the pandemic’s effects have tempered over time, it remains an important issue within healthcare and mental healthcare. One of the major concerns within COVID prevention has been the development and rollout of vaccines to prevent severe illness and hospitalization. Although COVID vaccines have been available since late 2020 in the United States, vaccine hesitancy remains a significant problem, with over 20% of Americans 18 years old or older being unvaccinated or under-vaccinated against the disease. Notably, effective interventions to combat vaccine hesitancy remain elusive. The most widely used interventions include public health initiatives, education, and expert encouragement – such as from a trusted healthcare provider.
 

A widely used method among healthcare providers to encourage vaccination is self-disclosure – when the provider uses their personal experience of vaccination to advocate for their patient’s vaccination. Notably, psychotherapists – such as clinical psychologists, social workers, and counselors – would be well-positioned to advocate for vaccination for their patients, as they are trained in both communication and scientific understanding. However, there has been almost no research on the role of psychotherapists in combatting vaccine hesitancy.
 

This qualitative study will examine the prevalence and techniques used by psychotherapists to discuss these issues with their patients, both about vaccination generally and about the COVID vaccine. Fifteen psychotherapists will undergo a semi-structured interview examining topics including current tools to discuss vaccination and vaccination hesitancy with patients, as well as therapists’ own attitudes towards vaccination, and the COVID vaccine in particular. For qualitative data analysis, we will use a thematic text analyses approach that involves a rigorous review and interpretation of the data. We will utilize the qualitative data analysis software NVivo to systematically analyze our findings to confirm major themes and data saturation.
 

Our results will include identification and discussion of themes and subthemes around therapists’ current practice addressing COVID vaccination hesitancy. This study will be a much-needed step toward understanding current practice in this area and to potentially aid in developing interventions for therapists to combat vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine uptake in their patients.