Abstract
The European project entitled “Empowering Nurses and Healthcare Professionals to Promote Vaccination and Tackle Vaccine Hesitancy. IENE 11 PROVAC” is an initiative that has been developed by three European Universities (from Spain, Cyprus, and Greece) and an educational organization from Romania. Its goal is to train healthcare professionals to become reliable sources of information as well as address the doubts of the general population. Furthermore, this program aims to create a curriculum, information tools, and a massive online open course (MOOC) targeting healthcare professionals, individuals from disadvantaged groups, and those who are more vaccine hesitant to help them become better informed, overcome their fears, and ultimately strengthen confidence in vaccines. This MOOC aspires to be an example for innovative online courses for healthcare professionals around the world.
TopIntroduction
Social Context
The year 2020 unexpectedly turned the world upside down, affecting every aspect of our day-to-day lives. The arrival of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has meant worldwide destabilization of public health, an economic crisis and a rethinking of the way we live and even the methods traditionally used to carry out our work.
At present, more than 600 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported, with Omicron being the dominant variant, although it is estimated that the actual number of positive cases is much higher (Datosmacro.com., n.d.). Every demographic of the population has been affected by the fear of falling ill. What is more, they were deprived of their liberty and paralyzed in their activities for many months while possible solutions were sought to alleviate the contagion, along with the only possible cure/solution to fight the virus—a vaccine. An arduous year had to pass before this long-awaited event arrived, during which time many people were forced to adapt their jobs and their day-to-day tasks. The general population was subjected to severe restrictions on social contact and had to make use of the possibilities offered by information and communication technologies (ICTs), which had to be applied in almost all facets of life (e.g., work, shopping, family, and social relationships) (Valverde-Martínez et al., 2023).
In this context, educational centers, including universities, were among the first institutions that were obliged to adapt to a distance teaching-learning modality to avoid the spread of the virus among children, adolescents and young people. In this way, a large part of society was protected without having to diminish the education of students over an extended period of uncertainty and isolation, until normality could be reestablished.
Today, the situation has greatly improved thanks to the massive vaccinations throughout the world. However, the percentages of immunized people vary depending on factors such as continent, country and age group, thus still keeping society as a whole far from the expected and desired figures (Greyling & Rossouw, 2022).
By the end of 2022, the percentage of the world population that had received at least one dose varied: North America (82%), Asia-Pacific (81%), Latin America (81%), Europe (70%), Middle East (58%), Africa (33%). Within the European Union, countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy show higher complete vaccination rates; however, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ukraine stand out for lower complete vaccination rates (Statista, 2023).
Although immunization is one of the most effective public health interventions, from 2019 to 2020 global vaccination coverage fell from 86% to 83%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Datosmacro.com., n.d.). Therefore, it has been shown that there is still a great deal of reluctance in society to receive not only the COVID vaccine, but any vaccine. The WHO ranks vaccine reluctance or refusal as one of the top 10 threats to global health. Many detractors have also appeared among healthcare professionals, who have further promoted uncertainty among those who do not have sufficient knowledge or information about the benefits provided by immunizing children and the rest of the population against the new strains that emerge as well as diseases that have almost been eradicated. This skepticism seems surprising considering vaccines, along with the treatment of drinking water and the widespread and rational use of antibiotics, are the health intervention that have prevented the most illnesses and deaths in history.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Vaccines: A way to train immune system to create antibodies, from only killed or weakened forms of germs like viruses or bacteria, that cannot cause the disease or put us at risk of its complications.
Vaccination: It is a simple, safe and effective way to protect ourselves against harmful diseases, taking advantage of our body’s natural defences to develop resistance against different germs and strengthen our immune system. This term is often used interchangeably with immunization.
Herd Immunity: Herd immunity occurs when a large number of people in a community become immune to a disease. This prevents the virus or bacteria from spreading easily, protecting those who cannot be vaccinated or who have immune systems. By getting vaccinated, we help build this herd immunity and prevent the spread of disease, providing protection for the entire community.
Culturally Competent Compassion: The human quality of understanding the suffering of others and having the desire to take action, using culturally appropriate and acceptable nursing interventions. This approach acknowledges and respects the cultural backgrounds of both patients and caregivers, considering the unique circumstances in which care is provided.
Side Effect: Any health problem that happens after vaccination is considered an adverse event and it can be a true adverse reaction that is related to the vaccine, or a coincidental event that happened following vaccination.
Vaccine Hesitancy: Vaccine hesitancy is when someone is left in limbo and cannot decide whether or not to get vaccinated, even though vaccines are available. This includes those who refuse to be vaccinated, those who are late in receiving vaccines, those who accept them but are undecided about their use, or those who get vaccinated with some but not others. Vaccine reluctance is somewhat complicated and context dependent, and can vary by time, place, and specific vaccines.
Vulnerable Groups Vaccination: A group formed by pregnant women, premature babies, individuals with chronic and immunodeficient diseases, older adults and people from developing countries are considered vulnerable.
Immunity: Immunity is the body’s ability to protect itself from disease. Our immune system fights against germs and bacteria that can make us sick. When our body encounters a germ or bacteria, it produces special defenses called antibodies to fight it, which help destroy the germs and prevent us from getting sick. There are two types of immunity, active, which is generated by our own body, and passive which is the protection against disease through antibodies produced by another human or animal (like maternal antibodies).
Equity: The principle of equity in health is connected to the notion of fairness in society as proposed by Rawls’ theory of justice. It emphasizes the need for healthcare services and interventions to be distributed based on individual needs, aiming to reduce social, environmental, and economic disparities. Ensuring equal access to immunization is a crucial aspect of the right to health.