Vaccine Hesitancy: Reflections from the Medical Professional's Perspective
1
Public health, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil
2
Training Center in Health Sciences, Federal University of Southern Bahia - Paulo Freire Campus, Teixeira de Freitas - Bahia, Brazil
3
Nursing, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3334
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:
Previous Works Vaccine hesitancy has emerged as a major public health challenge, intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and persisting in the post-pandemic period1,2. Medical professionals play a strategic role in shaping public trust in vaccines; however, their practices and discourses are influenced by broader informational, educational, and institutional contexts3. Understanding how physicians perceive and address vaccine hesitancy is essential for strengthening immunization strategies.
METHODS:
This study adopts a qualitative research design, based on projective interviews4 conducted with fifteen medical professionals. The analysis focused on physicians’ discourses regarding vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current context, with particular attention to perceptions of misinformation, professional training, and educational practices in health. These physicians were practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Ethics Committee of UFES, under number: 6.513.178 and CAAE registration 75527723.5.0000.5060.
RESULTS:
The findings indicate that misinformation (fake news), combined with structural weaknesses in Continuing Health Education and Popular Health Education, constitutes a significant factor undermining public trust in vaccines. Participants reported that professional training and updating processes occur in a fragmented and discontinuous manner, with limited institutional support from health services, universities, or professional councils. Despite these challenges, physicians highlighted active listening, the creation of safe and welcoming spaces for addressing doubts, and the use of participatory educational practices as key strengths in confronting vaccine hesitancy and rebuilding trust.
CONCLUSIONS:
Vaccine hesitancy is reinforced by the interaction between misinformation and institutional fragilities in professional education, which weaken public confidence in immunization. The findings underscore the need for the institutionalization of continuous, integrated training processes within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), capable of articulating scientific evidence, subjective values, and communicational practices. Strengthening such processes is essential to enhance the strategic role of physicians in promoting vaccination and addressing vaccine hesitancy in contemporary public health contexts
Previous Works Vaccine hesitancy has emerged as a major public health challenge, intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and persisting in the post-pandemic period1,2. Medical professionals play a strategic role in shaping public trust in vaccines; however, their practices and discourses are influenced by broader informational, educational, and institutional contexts3. Understanding how physicians perceive and address vaccine hesitancy is essential for strengthening immunization strategies.
METHODS:
This study adopts a qualitative research design, based on projective interviews4 conducted with fifteen medical professionals. The analysis focused on physicians’ discourses regarding vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current context, with particular attention to perceptions of misinformation, professional training, and educational practices in health. These physicians were practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Ethics Committee of UFES, under number: 6.513.178 and CAAE registration 75527723.5.0000.5060.
RESULTS:
The findings indicate that misinformation (fake news), combined with structural weaknesses in Continuing Health Education and Popular Health Education, constitutes a significant factor undermining public trust in vaccines. Participants reported that professional training and updating processes occur in a fragmented and discontinuous manner, with limited institutional support from health services, universities, or professional councils. Despite these challenges, physicians highlighted active listening, the creation of safe and welcoming spaces for addressing doubts, and the use of participatory educational practices as key strengths in confronting vaccine hesitancy and rebuilding trust.
CONCLUSIONS:
Vaccine hesitancy is reinforced by the interaction between misinformation and institutional fragilities in professional education, which weaken public confidence in immunization. The findings underscore the need for the institutionalization of continuous, integrated training processes within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), capable of articulating scientific evidence, subjective values, and communicational practices. Strengthening such processes is essential to enhance the strategic role of physicians in promoting vaccination and addressing vaccine hesitancy in contemporary public health contexts
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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