COLUMBIA, Mo. – While African Americans have disproportionately higher COVID-19 infection and mortality rates compared to whites, they also have disproportionately lower COVID-19 vaccination rates, which is due in part to the reluctance to be vaccinated.
In an effort to address health disparities that negatively affect African Americans, MU’s Wilson Majee led a study to better understand the factors that contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among African Americans. He found aggravating factors, including historical distrust of government and personal experiences of racism within the health care system, contributing to African Americans’ hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Majee interviewed church leaders, lifestyle coaches, and participants from live well by faith, a faith-based community wellness program run by the Boone County Health Department that promotes healthy living and addresses chronic health conditions in predominantly African-American communities in Boone County, Missouri. Both historical mistrust of government and personal experiences of racism within the health care system were common themes among members of the African American community for not wanting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Tuskegee syphilis study was repeatedly cited as a popular example of unethical medical treatment of African Americans by the federal government, and once that trust is lost, it can be difficult to regain even over time,” he said. Majee, associate professor. in the MU School of Health Professions. “One respondent mentioned the common reminder from the federal government to never forget the tragic events of September 11, 2001, but African Americans are expected to forget their own federal government’s unethical investigative practices and history of injustice and racism.”
Majee also told the story of another respondent who reflected on his own personal experience in the health care industry after testing positive for COVID-19.
“This old man went to the hospital but was sent home, and after his health got worse, he went back to the hospital but was sent back home,” Majee said. “When he came back the third time, they told him they had made a mistake and gave him a hospital bed so he could be monitored, and he couldn’t help but wonder if his experience would have been different if he wasn’t black. ”
Other factors that contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy included the speed with which the vaccine was developed, a lack of Black doctors to provide the shots, and misinformation spread on social media.
Majee added social determinants of health, including that African Americans tend to be poorer and have less access to education, health care, and healthy food, as well as structural determinants of health, including that African Americans tend to be affected by racism. in the housing, education, employment, and health care industries, all combined to contribute to worse health outcomes for African Americans.
“African Americans are more likely to have low-income, in-person jobs in busy places that cannot accommodate work-from-home or social distancing, making them more likely to be exposed to and infected by COVID-19,” Majee said. . “Combine that with African Americans who are already poorer and less likely to be able to afford quality health insurance, historical mistrust of government, and negative personal experiences with the health care industry, and you will quickly see how all of these factors begin to work together to negatively affect health outcomes for African Americans.”
Community wellness programs like Live Well by Faith play a key role in helping address these inequalities, Majee said. Receiving accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine from trusted members of the community, such as African-American church leaders and lifestyle coaches, played an important role in promoting positive health outcomes.
“African-American members of the congregation in black churches believed the information they received because it came from people they trusted who looked like them,” Majee said. “The key to the Live Well by Faith program is that it is rooted in the community, and we saw that it was helpful in getting more African Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Majee’s main research goal is to find ways in which those with power, including local, state, and federal governments, church leaders, researchers, and adult role models, can distribute resources that engage vulnerable populations. in their communities.
“My passion is empowering people in resource-limited communities by listening to their ideas and allocating resources to develop interventions that meet the needs of people who are struggling,” said Majee. “There is a great need to improve the health of minorities, as the disparities are huge and will continue to grow if we don’t act now.”
“The Past is So Present: Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among African-American Adults Using Qualitative Data” was published in Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Study co-authors include Adaobi Anakwe, Kelechi Onyeaka, and Idethia Harvey of MU.
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