Characterizing nurses’ and pharmacists’ role in addressing vaccine hesitancy and/or refusal: A scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background: Nurses and pharmacists are key in addressing vaccine hesitancy among patients. Little is known regarding the implementation of effective intervention into their practice, this has further implications with a need for a COVID-19 vaccine to have long-term control of the virus. The purpose of this study is to identify, characterize, and map the existing knowledge of nurses and pharmacists on vaccine hesitancy interventions/strategies and their perceived barriers and enablers to addressing vaccine hesitancy among patients.

Methods: Our review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. We will include both published and unpublished grey literature and search the following databases from: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycInfo, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global databases, Google Scholar, and websites from professional bodies and other organizations. Two reviewers will independently screen and extract relevant sources with a third reviewer to resolve any discrepancies. We will narratively describe quantitative data and conduct a thematic analysis of qualitative data.

Presentation of Results: Data on barriers/enablers and strategies/interventions will be analyzed using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). Extracted data will be presented in a tabular form that aligns with the objectives. Two reviewers will conduct the data classification using a pre-defined coding manual based on definitions and guidance from the BCW.

Ethics and Dissemination: No ethical approval is required for this study. We will share the results in a peer-reviewed, open access publication. Data will be publicly available data repository located at Dalhousie University.