Experiences of American Health Departments, Health Systems, and Community Organizations in COVID-19 Vaccine Provision for Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Communities

Abstract

Effective provision of COVID-19 vaccines could mitigate the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by many immigrant communities. To describe organizational experiences in using COVID-19 vaccination programs, qualitative interviews were conducted from September 2020 to April 2021 with representatives from public health, health system, and community organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic among immigrant communities across the United States. Interviews followed a semistructured interview guide and were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded. A latent thematic analysis was facilitated by Dedoose software. Interviews representative of 18 public health departments, 20 healthcare systems, and 18 community organizations were included in the analysis. Five identified themes referenced the importance of 1) appreciating community and individual heterogeneity in health priorities and attitudes; 2) addressing vaccine fears with trustworthy messages; 3) ensuring equitable access to vaccine opportunities; 4) making substantive investments in community partnerships and outreach; and 5) adapting to meet new needs. It is essential that vaccine efforts consider community heterogeneity, communicate in a trustworthy and culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, strive for equitable provision of care, build partnerships, and learn from prior experiences.

Utilizing rapid qualitative assessment and thematic analysis methods to identify and share promising case investigation and contact tracing practices with people in refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities during COVID-19

“…The initial interview guide, and subsequent iterations of the guide where adjustments were made to tailor questions for each interview cohort, were developed collaboratively. The interview guides included questions about vaccination to begin exploring how organizations were thinking about this anticipated next phase of the public health response ( 18 ).…”

“…We conducted multiple thematic analyses to further describe and expand our understanding of the processes underlying interviewees' CICT response experiences and promising practices within RIM communities, including related facilitators and barriers ( 12 ). Our multidisciplinary team completed four related, but separate thematic analyses ( 2 , 15 , 17 , 18 ). The clear and flexibly structured guidance provided by Braun and Clarke's ( 12 ) thematic analysis method was an ideal fit for the needs assessment focus of this NRC-RIM project and a team science approach.…”

“…Additionally, the teams engaged in thematic mapping (i.e., creation of visual depictions of themes and thematic relationships), sometimes diagramming manually on paper, within a shared Word document, or with an interactive virtual map (e.g., Jam Board). Examples of final figures derived from the thematic mapping process can be found within each thematic analysis manuscript ( 2 , 15 , 17 , 18 ).…”