Columbia, Missouri-African Americans have disproportionately higher COVID-19 infection and mortality rates than whites, while disproportionate COVID-19 vaccination rates, partly contributed by vaccine hesitation. It’s getting lower.
To address health inequalities that adversely affect African Americans, MU Wilson Maggie led a study to better understand the factors that contribute to the hesitation of the COVID-19 vaccine in African Americans. He found that multiple factors, such as historical distrust of the government and personal experience of racism in the health care system, contributed to the hesitation of the COVID-19 vaccine for African Americans.
Majee is a community-based wellness program run by the Boone County Health Department that promotes healthy living and addresses chronic health conditions in the predominantly African-American community of Boone County, Missouri, Live Well. We interviewed church leaders, lifestyle coaches and participants from Faith. Both her historical distrust of the government and her personal experience of racism in the health care system were common themes among members of the African-American community who did not want to be vaccinated with COVID-19.
“The Tuskegee syphilis study has been repeatedly mentioned by the federal government as a popular example of unethical treatment for African Americans. If that trust is lost, it may be difficult to recover over time. No, “said Associate Professor Maggie. At MU School of Health Professions. “One respondent mentioned a common reminder from the federal government that he would never forget the tragic incident of September 11, 2001, but African Americans have unethical research practices and their own country. It is expected to forget the history of injustice and racism from the federal government. “
Maggie also told another respondent who looked back on his personal experience in the healthcare industry after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The old man went to the hospital but came home, and after his health deteriorated, he returned to the hospital but came home again,” Maggie said. “When he returned for the third time, he was said to have made a mistake and was given a hospital bed to monitor. Without wondering if he wasn’t black, his experience would have been different. I couldn’t. “
Other factors contributing to the hesitation of the COVID-19 vaccine include the speed of vaccine development, the shortage of black doctors to provide the vaccine, and the dissemination of false information on social media.
Maggie is a social determinant of health, including that African Americans tend to be poor and have less access to education, health care, and health foods, and African Americans tend to be affected by racial discrimination in housing. Added structural determinants of health, including being. The education, employment and healthcare industries all come together to contribute to the deterioration of African-American health.
“African Americans are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 and become infected because they are more likely to work from home or in crowded areas where social distance is not available, and to work face-to-face with low incomes. “Maggie said. .. “African Americans are already poor and unlikely to buy quality health insurance, combined with historical distrust of the government and personal negative experience in the healthcare industry, all of these factors It’s easy to see how they work together and start to become negative. It affects the health of African Americans. “
Community wellness programs such as Live Well by Faith play an important role in addressing these inequality, according to Maggie. Receiving accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine from trusted community members, such as African-American church leaders and lifestyle coaches, has played a major role in promoting good health outcomes. ..
“African-American members of the Black Church congregation believed in the information they received because it was from trusted people who looked like themselves,” Maggie said. “The key to the LiveWell by Faith program is that it’s community-based, which we’ve found to help more African Americans get the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Majee’s main research goal is to find ways in which powerful people can distribute resources that attract vulnerable people in the community, such as local, state, federal, church leaders, researchers, and adult role models. That is.
“My passion is to empower people in resource-constrained communities by listening to their ideas and allocating resources to develop interventions that meet the needs of those who are struggling.” Said Maggie. “The inequality is so great that if we don’t act now, it will continue to widen, so we need to improve the health of our minorities.”
“The past is very present: using qualitative data to understand the hesitation of the COVID-19 vaccine among African-American adults” was published in Journal of racial and ethnic health inequalities. Co-authors of this study include MU’s Adabi Anakwe, Kelechi Onyeaka, and Idethia Harvey.
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