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. 2024 Dec 31;17(1):2384497.
doi: 10.1080/16549716.2024.2384497. Epub 2024 Sep 4.

Strategies to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in First Nations peoples: a systematic review

Adeline Tinessia  1 , Katrina Clark  2   3 , Madeleine Randell  1 , Julie Leask  1 , Catherine King  1   2
Affiliations

Strategies to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in First Nations peoples: a systematic review

Adeline Tinessia et al. Glob Health Action. .

Abstract

Background: First Nations peoples face disproportionate vaccine-preventable risks due to social, economic, and healthcare disparities. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was also mistrust and hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccines among First Nations peoples. These are rooted in factors such as colonial histories, discriminatory medical practices, and unreliable information.

Objective: To examine strategies to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among First Nations peoples globally.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted. Searches were undertaken in OVID MEDLINE, OVID EMBASE, OVID PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Informit. Searches were date limited from 2020. Items included in this review provided primary data that discussed strategies used to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in First Nations peoples.

Results: We identified several key strategies across four countries - Australia, the USA, Canada, and Guatemala in seventeen papers. These included understanding communities' needs, collaborating with communities, tailored messaging, addressing underlying systemic traumas and social health gaps, and early logistics planning.

Conclusion: The inclusion of First Nations-centred strategies to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is essential to delivering an equitable pandemic response. Implementation of these strategies in the continued effort to vaccinate against COVID-19 and in future pandemics is integral to ensure that First Nations peoples are not disproportionately affected by disease.

Keywords: Indigenous populations; mistrust; vaccine equity; vaccine hesitancy; vaccine interventions.

Plain language summary

Main findings In this review, we identified seventeen studies detailing five key strategies to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among First Nations Peoples.Added knowledge First Nations-centred strategies to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were: understanding communities’ needs, collaboration with communities, tailored messaging, logistics planning and addressing the underlying systemic trauma experienced by First Nations peoples when accessing healthcare.Global health impact for policy and action First Nations-centred strategies must be included in the continued effort to vaccinate against COVID-19 and other future outbreaks to ensure that First Nations peoples are not disproportionately affected.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of the selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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