Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence and Uptake among Black Canadians

Black Canadians have the highest rates of COVID-19 infection and death in Canada. Black Canadians also have the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in Canada. Two national surveys indicate Black Canadians are 20% less likely than White Canadians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Some factors that contribute to COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy include lack of trust in healthcare professionals, lack of trust in vaccines, younger age, being female, low education, and being unable able to take time off from work. Improving the COVID-19 vaccination rate among Black Canadians is of high interest to policy makers and stakeholders. Our project seeks to address knowledge gaps related to COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among Black Canadians and inform effective strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and, in turn, uptake among Black Canadians. We will use a participatory research approach and consider diverse social determinants, including gender, socioeconomic status, and race/racism, throughout our data collection process. The project will be conducted in four phases. Phase 1 will involve interviews of Black Canadians. Phase 2 will involve a scoping review of the literature. Phase 3 will involve focus groups with stakeholders. Phase 4 will involve taking action through the co-development of knowledge translation tools. We will thematically analyze our qualitative data. Our project will result in the creation of a practice guideline, a policy guideline, and an e-learning module on strategies to address COVID-19 vaccination among Black Canadians. Our interdisciplinary team of experts in Black people's health, infectious disease control, qualitative research, scoping reviews, immigrant health, and participatory action research is well positioned to address this knowledge gap.