Engaging Church Health Ministries to Decrease Coronavirus Disease-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Underserved Populations

Engaging Church Health Ministries to Decrease COVID-19 (COVID-19) Vaccine Hesitancy in Underserved Populations in Baton Rouge

This study will determine the effectiveness of training church health ministers to educate their congregations about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots for decreasing vaccine hesitancy and improving testing knowledge in underserved Black communities.

This study will determine the effectiveness of training church health ministers to educate their congregations about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots for decreasing vaccine hesitancy and improving testing knowledge in underserved Black communities. A total of 98 participants from three-to-five churches will be randomized to an intervention group that will receive counseling from their health ministers on the benefits of getting vaccinated, boosted, and tested, or to a delayed intervention control group. The effects of the intervention on the primary outcome, change in vaccine/booster hesitancy, will be assessed by a questionnaire that will be administered to both groups at baseline and after three weeks. Following the three-week control period, the delayed intervention control group will also receive the intervention and again be administered the questionnaire. Questionnaires will be used to obtain more granular information on sources of vaccine/booster hesitancy and for their vaccine-related decisions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 y
• Not having received an initial COVID-19 vaccine or a booster vaccine at the recommended interval
• Having vaccine or booster hesitancy
• Able to understand and speak English
• Willing to engage with the church's health ministry via in-person or virtual/phone sessions

Exclusion Criteria:

• None