Reducing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Hispanic Parents

COVID-19 vaccines are available to children over six months, and these vaccines are powerful tools against this catastrophic pandemic. However, Hispanic/Latino children have lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than White non-Hispanic children .Our team of health communication and public health experts proposes a community-based theory-driven intervention that utilizes culturally-grounded narratives from digital storytelling to reduce Hispanic parents' COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and increase their children's vaccine uptake.

Among children and adolescents, infection with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) can lead to health complications (e.g., multisystem inflammatory syndrome, long COVID), hospitalizations, and death. COVID-19 vaccines are available to children over six months, and these vaccines are powerful tools against this catastrophic pandemic. However, Hispanic/Latino children have lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than White non-Hispanic children3 In most southwestern U.S. states, Hispanic children have the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates among pediatric populations. Lower vaccination rates in children are primarily due to parental vaccine hesitancy. Considerably more work is needed to decrease parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Hispanic parents. Narrative-based interventions are powerful tools for persuading individuals to enact health behaviors (vaccination) that require an immediate personal cost (discomfort) for a longer-term gain (disease immunity). Our current study will examine digital storytelling (DST), a specific form of culturally-grounded narrative developed via community engagement, to reduce Hispanic parents' COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. No research, to our knowledge, has used digital stories to decrease Hispanic parents' vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, it is critical to assess which stories resonate with and are most persuasive for those who are hesitant to have their children receive COVID-19 doses and then explore the impact of an intervention utilizing these stories on parents' decisions to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Specific Aims: Aim 1: Develop one digital story per participant (n=10; each story lasting 2-3 minutes) in a DST workshop with a sample of Hispanic parents/ legal guardians converted from being COVID-19 vaccine-hesitant to vaccine-accepting. Aim 2: Assess the feasibility and acceptability of a web-based pilot DST intervention vs. an information-only control among Hispanic parents and legal guardians (n=80) of children who are not up-to-date with CDC-recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses. Exploratory aim: The investigators will explore intervention and control group participants' (n=80) patterns of pre- to post-intervention change in vaccine uptake perceptions, vaccine hesitancy, intentions to vaccinate children against COVID-19, and children's vaccine uptake at two months post-intervention.