Objective: We assessed healthcare provider recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination, disparities across sociodemographic factors, and associations with health care coverage, social norms, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and Fox News preference.
Methods: We utilized random sample survey data of Arkansas residents (N = 2201) collected in October 2022 to identify adults with a personal provider who make up the analytical sample of this study (n = 1804).
Results: Over a third (37.
is a 12-part series of thematically linked mini-essays with accompanying illustrations that explore the many dimensions of family medicine, as interpreted by individual family physicians and medical educators in the USA and elsewhere around the world. In 'I: framing family medicine-history, values, and perspectives', the authors address the following themes: 'Notes on , 'Family medicine-the generalist specialty', 'Family medicine's achievements-a assessment', 'Family medicine's next 50 years-toward filling our glasses', 'Four enduring truths of family medicine', 'Names matter', 'Family medicine at its core' and 'The ecology of medical care.' May readers find much food for thought in these essays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 vaccine coverage remains low for US children, especially among those living in rural areas and the Southern/Southeastern US. As of 12 September 2023, the CDC recommended bivalent booster doses for everyone 6 months and older. Emerging research has shown an individual may be vaccine hesitant and also choose to receive a vaccine for themselves or their child(ren); however, little is known regarding how hesitant adopters evaluate COVID-19 booster vaccinations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To address the high prevalence of health disparities and lack of research opportunities among rural and minority communities, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) developed the Rural Research Network in January 2020.
Aim: The aim of this report is to describe our process and progress in developing a rural research network. The Rural Research Network provides a platform to expand research participation opportunities to rural Arkansans, many of whom are older adults, low-income individuals, and underrepresented minority populations.
The literature regarding vaccine hesitancy is limited to specific vaccines rather than general vaccine hesitancy. No studies have examined the relationship of general vaccine hesitancy to healthcare access and experiences of racial discrimination. This study fills gaps by examining: (1) socio-demographic factors; (2) associations between healthcare access; and (3) experiences with racial discrimination and general vaccine hesitancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Minority and low socioeconomic communities may face practical barriers to vaccination, including decreased access to health care and less trust in healthcare organizations; however, few studies have focused on these barriers as the cause of differential vaccine uptake. We worked with community partners to implement and evaluate two community-driven approaches to COVID-19 vaccination distribution-through faith-based organizations (FBOs) and outpatient clinics-with a focus on understanding the differences between the populations who accessed each distribution method.
Methodology: Participants who came to the vaccination locations were approached and asked to complete a survey during their 15 min post-vaccination observation period.
Background: Vaccines provide protection against numerous diseases that can cause serious illness and death. However, vaccine hesitancy threatens to undermine progress in reducing preventable diseases and illness. Vaccine hesitancy has been shown to vary by sociodemographic characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent research suggests people who report vaccine hesitancy may still get vaccinated; however, little is known about hesitancy among those who chose to vaccinate. The current study focused on individuals who received the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine despite their hesitancy, whom we refer to as "hesitant adopters." With the understanding that vaccine attitudes and vaccine behaviors may or may not be correlated, we examined the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among those who have been vaccinated, how COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy varies across sociodemographic groups, and how COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy relates to other factors (prior health care access and influenza vaccination behavior over the past 5 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite wide availability, only 50.2% of the United States (US) adult population and 50.3% of adult Arkansans were vaccinated for influenza during the 2020-2021 influenza season.
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