Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38262649›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

Vaccine hesitancy among physicians: a qualitative study with general practitioners and paediatricians in Austria and Germany.

Silvia Wojczewski, Katja M Leitner, Kathryn Hoffmann, Ruth Kutalek, Elena Jirovsky-Platter

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Silvia Wojczewski *Department of Primary Care Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria silvia.wojczewski@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID 0000-0002-0065-7550
Katja M Leitner *Innere Medizin, Kantonsspital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
Kathryn HoffmannDepartment of Primary Care Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Ruth KutalekDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Elena Jirovsky-PlatterDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-8304-2518
Medical University of Vienna · ATKantonsspital Aarau · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study aims to understand reasons for vaccine hesitancy (VH) among general practioners (GPs) and paediatricians. We aim to analyse how and when the healthcare workers (HCWs) developed vaccine-hesitant views and how they transfer these to patients. DESIGN AND

settingSemistructured interviews with vaccine-hesitant GPs and paediatricians were conducted in Austria and Germany using an explorative qualitative research design.

participantsWe contacted 41 physicians through letters and emails and 10 agreed to participate, five were male and five female. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Ten interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and anonymised. The material was analysed inductively following a grounded theory approach with open coding using the software atlas.ti.

resultsKey themes that were identified were education and career path, understanding of medicine and medical profession, experiences with vaccines, doctor-patient interactions and continuous education activities and the link to VH. GPs and paediatricians' vaccine-hesitant attitudes developed during their medical training and, in particular, during extracurricular training in homeopathy, which most of the participants completed. Most participants work in private practices rather than with contracts with social insurance because they are not satisfied with the health system. Furthermore, they are critical of biomedicine. Most of the interview partners do not consider themselves antivaccination, but are sceptical towards vaccines and especially point out the side effects. Most do not vaccinate in their practices and some do only occasionally. Their vaccine-hesitant views are often fostered through respective online communities of vaccine-hesitant HCWs.

conclusionsMore studies on a connection between complementary medicine and vaccine-hesitant views of HCWs are needed. Education about vaccines and infectious diseases among healthworkers must increase especially tailored towards the use of internet and social media. Physicians should be made aware that through time and empathy towards their patients they could have a positive impact on undecided patients and parents regarding vaccine decisions.

Indexed as

General PractitionersVaccinesAustriaFemaleGermanyHumansMalePediatriciansVaccination HesitancyVaccinesGENERAL MEDICINE (see Internal Medicine)Primary Health CareQUALITATIVE RESEARCHSOCIAL MEDICINE

Identifiers

PMID38262649
PMCPMC10806645
OpenAlexW4391146357

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.