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. 2023 Nov;33(13):1189-1202.
doi: 10.1177/10497323231196439. Epub 2023 Sep 6.

Recruiting a Hard-to-Reach, Hidden and Vulnerable Population: The Methodological and Practical Pitfalls of Researching Vaccine-Hesitant Parents

Ana Patrícia Hilário  1 , Alice Scavarda  2 , Dino Numerato  3 , Joana Mendonça  1 , Mario Cardano  2 , Jaroslava Marhankova  3 , Luigi Gariglio  2 , Pia Vuolanto  4 , Alistair Anderson  5 , Petra Auvinen  4 , Piet Bracke  6 , Tom Douglass  7 , Pru Hobson-West  5 , Esther Lermytte  6 , Paulina Polak  8 , Tadeusz Rudek  8
Affiliations

Recruiting a Hard-to-Reach, Hidden and Vulnerable Population: The Methodological and Practical Pitfalls of Researching Vaccine-Hesitant Parents

Ana Patrícia Hilário et al. Qual Health Res. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

While recruitment is an essential aspect of any research project, its challenges are rarely acknowledged. We intend to address this gap by discussing the challenges to the participation of vaccine-hesitant parents defined here as a hard-to-reach, hidden and vulnerable population drawing on extensive empirical qualitative evidence from seven European countries. The difficulties in reaching vaccine-hesitant parents were very much related to issues concerning trust, as there appears to be a growing distrust in experts, which is extended to the work developed by researchers and their funding bodies. These difficulties have been accentuated by the public debate around COVID-19 vaccination, as it seems to have increased parents' hesitancy to participate. Findings from recruiting 167 vaccine-hesitant parents in seven European countries suggest that reflexive and sensible recruitment approaches should be developed.

Keywords: hesitancy; interviews; recruitment; trust; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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