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Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Medical Distrust Held by Correctional Officers
Vaccines (Basel), v 11(7), 1237
13 Jul 2023
PMID: 37515052
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
This study explores COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among prison security staff and the extent to which they trust varied sources of information about the vaccines. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from a state-wide sample of corrections officers (COs, hereafter; n = 1208) in February 2021. Group differences, disaggregated by demographic characteristics, were examined using F-tests and t-tests. Despite the comparatively limited risk of contracting the virus, non-security staff reported they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine at no cost (74%), compared to their more vulnerable CO counterparts (49%). We observed vaccine refusal correlations between COs’ reported gender, age, and length of time working as a CO, but none with their self-reported race. Vaccine refusal was more prevalent among womxn officers, younger officers, and those who had spent less time working as prison security staff. Our findings also suggest that the only trusted source of information about vaccines were family members and only for officers who would refuse the vaccine; the quality of trust placed in those sources, however, was not substantially positive and did not vary greatly across CO racial groups. By highlighting characteristics of the observed gaps in COVID-19 vaccine acceptance between COs and their non-security staff coworkers, as well as between corrections officers of varied demographic backgrounds, these findings can inform the development of responsive and accepted occupational health policies for communities both inside and intrinsically linked to prisons.
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Details
- Title
- COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Medical Distrust Held by Correctional Officers
- Creators
- Erin Michelle Turner Kerrison - University of California, BerkeleyJordan M. Hyatt - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Vaccines (Basel), v 11(7), 1237
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Grant note
- Arnold Ventures Hellman Foundation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Criminology and Justice Studies
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001038815300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85166411520
- Other Identifier
- 991020836498204721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Immunology
- Medicine, Research & Experimental