PCORI has identified COVID-19 as an important research topic. Patients, clinicians, and others want to learn: What are effective ways to prevent or reduce the impact of COVID-19, especially on vulnerable populations and the healthcare workforce? To help answer this question, PCORI launched an initiative in 2020 to Strengthen Understanding of COVID-19 Impact and Inform Healthcare Responses. The initiative funded this research project and others.

This research project is in progress. PCORI will post the research findings on this page within 90 days after the results are final.

What is the research about?

Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to protect against COVID-19 and slow its spread. They can also lower the chance of serious illness or death from COVID-19. But some people have concerns, mistrust, or mistaken beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines and are hesitant to get a vaccine.

Among those who have such concerns are health professionals who work in long-term care settings such as nursing homes. These long-term care workers, or LTCWs, serve older adults who are at high risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. LTCWs themselves are also at increased risk of getting COVID-19. Increasing LTCWs’ confidence in COVID-19 vaccines may help protect both older patients and LTCWs.

In this study, the research team is testing two ways to provide information and support to LTCWs to increase their confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. The team is comparing these two ways to a standard source of information about COVID-19 vaccines.

Who can this research help?

Results may help long-term care administrators when considering ways to help improve LTCWs’ confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

What is the research team doing?

The research team is recruiting 1,800 LTCWs who have concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. The team is assigning LTCWs by chance to learn about COVID-19 vaccines in one of three ways:

• A webinar. In this group, LTCWs attend a one-hour virtual discussion session in groups of up to 20. Trained facilitators, including LTCWs and physician experts, lead the sessions. LTCWs view COVID-19 vaccine information on a conversation aid, talk about their concerns, and ask questions.
• A social media website. LTCWs visit an interactive website on COVID-19 vaccines with content that is drawn from social media platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube. The site addresses common concerns about COVID-19 vaccines and topics such as vaccine benefits and risks. Participants can like and comment on website content.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, website. LTCWs view COVID-19 vaccine information on the CDC website.

The research team is surveying LTCWs when they join the study, and three weeks, three months, and six months later. Surveys ask about LTCWs’ confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Other survey questions include whether LTCWs got vaccinated, how informed they feel about COVID-19 vaccines, and their trust in COVID-19 vaccine information from different sources.

LTCWs and representatives from the National Association of Health Care Assistants, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and East Carolina University are helping to design and conduct this study.

Research methods at a glance