A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients
Abstract Vaccine hesitancy is among the most concerning public health issues due to declining immunization rates worldwide. We report a mixed-methods field test of two conversational techniques that allow for an empathetic dialogue on vaccination between health care professionals and patients: Empat...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | npj Vaccines |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01197-8 |
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| _version_ | 1849238777544835072 |
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| author | Angelo Fasce Mirela Mustață Alexandra Deliu Dawn Holford Linda Karlsson Virginia Gould Gheorghe Gindrovel Dumitra Dana Farcasanu Iulia Vișinescu Pierre Verger Stephan Lewandowsky |
| author_facet | Angelo Fasce Mirela Mustață Alexandra Deliu Dawn Holford Linda Karlsson Virginia Gould Gheorghe Gindrovel Dumitra Dana Farcasanu Iulia Vișinescu Pierre Verger Stephan Lewandowsky |
| author_sort | Angelo Fasce |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Vaccine hesitancy is among the most concerning public health issues due to declining immunization rates worldwide. We report a mixed-methods field test of two conversational techniques that allow for an empathetic dialogue on vaccination between health care professionals and patients: Empathetic-refutational interviewing (ERI) and motivational interviewing (MI). Thirty Romanian general practitioners were assigned to an untrained control group and to two experimental groups in which they were trained in ERI or MI. After training, physicians had conversations on HPV and influenza vaccines with 334 patients who were hesitant to receive a vaccination. Patients of physicians in the ERI group demonstrated larger increases in positive attitudes toward vaccines and willingness to get vaccinated, while a greater proportion of patients in the MI group scheduled vaccination appointments. Interviews with participating physicians revealed overall satisfaction with the conversational techniques. Empathetic interpersonal communication can have a substantial positive impact on vaccination rates, especially for vaccines subject to mass misinformation campaigns. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-93af0a3f09234970a18f1ca13635ec41 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-0105 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-93af0a3f09234970a18f1ca13635ec412025-08-20T04:01:24ZengNature Portfolionpj Vaccines2059-01052025-07-0110111110.1038/s41541-025-01197-8A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patientsAngelo Fasce0Mirela Mustață1Alexandra Deliu2Dawn Holford3Linda Karlsson4Virginia Gould5Gheorghe Gindrovel Dumitra6Dana Farcasanu7Iulia Vișinescu8Pierre Verger9Stephan Lewandowsky10University of ErfurtCenter for Health Policies and ServicesRomanian AcademyUniversity of BristolUniversity of TurkuUniversity of BristolUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy of CraiovaCenter for Health Policies and ServicesCenter for Health Policies and ServicesSoutheastern Health Regional ObservatoryUniversity of BristolAbstract Vaccine hesitancy is among the most concerning public health issues due to declining immunization rates worldwide. We report a mixed-methods field test of two conversational techniques that allow for an empathetic dialogue on vaccination between health care professionals and patients: Empathetic-refutational interviewing (ERI) and motivational interviewing (MI). Thirty Romanian general practitioners were assigned to an untrained control group and to two experimental groups in which they were trained in ERI or MI. After training, physicians had conversations on HPV and influenza vaccines with 334 patients who were hesitant to receive a vaccination. Patients of physicians in the ERI group demonstrated larger increases in positive attitudes toward vaccines and willingness to get vaccinated, while a greater proportion of patients in the MI group scheduled vaccination appointments. Interviews with participating physicians revealed overall satisfaction with the conversational techniques. Empathetic interpersonal communication can have a substantial positive impact on vaccination rates, especially for vaccines subject to mass misinformation campaigns.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01197-8 |
| spellingShingle | Angelo Fasce Mirela Mustață Alexandra Deliu Dawn Holford Linda Karlsson Virginia Gould Gheorghe Gindrovel Dumitra Dana Farcasanu Iulia Vișinescu Pierre Verger Stephan Lewandowsky A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients npj Vaccines |
| title | A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| title_full | A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| title_fullStr | A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| title_short | A field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| title_sort | field test of empathetic refutational and motivational interviewing to address vaccine hesitancy among patients |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01197-8 |
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