A Systematic Review on Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities in Canada: Critical Issues and Research Failures

Jude Mary Cénat^{1

2

3}, Pari-Gole Noorishad¹, Schwab Mulopo Bakombo⁴, Olivia Onesi¹, Aya Mesbahi¹, Wina Paul Darius¹, Lisa Caulley^{2

5}, Sanni Yaya^{6

7}, Marie-Hélène Chomienne^{2

5

8}, Josephine Etowa^{2

9}, Vivek Venkatesh¹⁰, Rose Darly Dalexis⁴, Roland Pongou¹¹, Patrick R Labelle¹²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
² Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
³ Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁴ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, Family Medicine University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁶ School of International Development and Global Studies, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁷ The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London NW9 7PA, UK.
⁸ Institut du Savoir Montfort, Ottawa, ON K1K 0T2, Canada.
⁹ School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Art Education, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3H 1M8, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
¹² Library, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.

PMID: 36423032
PMCID: PMC9695687
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111937

Review

A Systematic Review on Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities in Canada: Critical Issues and Research Failures

Jude Mary Cénat et al. Vaccines (Basel). 2022.

. 2022 Nov 15;10(11):1937.

doi: 10.3390/vaccines10111937.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
² Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
³ Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁴ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, Family Medicine University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁶ School of International Development and Global Studies, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁷ The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London NW9 7PA, UK.
⁸ Institut du Savoir Montfort, Ottawa, ON K1K 0T2, Canada.
⁹ School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Art Education, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3H 1M8, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
¹² Library, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.

PMID: 36423032
PMCID: PMC9695687
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111937

Abstract

Black communities have been disproportionately impacted by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Canada, in terms of both number of infections and mortality rates. Yet, according to early studies, vaccine hesitancy appears to be higher in Black communities. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the prevalence and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities in Canada. Peer-reviewed studies published from 11 March 2020 to 26 July 2022, were searched through eleven databases: APA PsycInfo (Ovid), Cairn.info, Canadian Business & Current Affairs (ProQuest), CPI.Q (Gale OneFile), Cochrane CENTRAL (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Érudit, Global Health (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (Ovid), and Web of Science (Clarivate). Eligible studies were published in French or English and had empirical data on the prevalence or factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in samples or subsamples of Black people. Only five studies contained empirical data on vaccine hesitancy in Black individuals and were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. Black individuals represented 1.18% (n = 247) of all included study samples (n = 20,919). Two of the five studies found that Black individuals were more hesitant to be vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to White individuals, whereas the other three found no significant differences. The studies failed to provide any evidence of factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. Despite national concerns about vaccine hesitancy in Black communities, a color-blind approach is still predominant in Canadian health research. Of about 40 studies containing empirical data on vaccine hesitancy in Canada, only five contained data on Black communities. None analyzed factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. Policies and strategies to strengthen health research in Black communities and eliminate the color-blind approach are discussed.

Keywords: Black communities; Canada; racial disparities; systematic review; vaccine hesitancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest for any author.

Figures

**Figure 1**
PRISMA flow diagram of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Black communities in Canada.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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A Systematic Review on Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities in Canada: Critical Issues and Research Failures

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A Systematic Review on Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities in Canada: Critical Issues and Research Failures

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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References

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