Vaccine focus groups look into vaccine hesitancy

Researchers at ASU’s Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center along with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University and the Mayo Clinic are conducting studies in underserved communities disproportionately affected by COVID 19 through funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH). They are using focus groups to find out more about vaccine hesitancy.

We talked with Sabrina Oesterle, the Director of Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center and Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions about it all.

We talk about the effort to help people get vaccinated. She talks about the 4 partners and how they work together for a common goal. She said they are trying to create a public health messaging and find out what their concerns are around the vaccine.

She explains who is the population that really has not been vaccinated, and what they are doing to help. She said the docs groups are working over zoom and have conversations about the various topics.

She said the primary reason people want to get vaccinated is to keep their families safe. There are many issues that some people face in getting vaccinated. Some examples are transportation and online registration.

Oesterle said she wants everyone to be represented in the work that is being done and the studies that are happening around COVID and the vaccine. She said they have to consider the right messages and the right ways of delivering the message.