Healthcare provider and medical student impressions of vaccine hesitancy in Romania

Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy, including vaccination delay and refusal, threatens gains made to improve global health. Recent outbreaks of measles attributed to lower vaccination rates and the COVID-19 pandemic have added urgency to the need for current and future healthcare providers to effectively identify and address barriers to vaccination. Study design: Cross-sectional interviews and online surveys. Methods: Healthcare providers in Cluj-Napoca, Romania were interviewed. Transcripts were translated for inductive coding. Medical students at the Iuliu Hatieganu University completed an online survey accessed via a university social media group. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each survey question. Results: Practicing clinicians lack confidence in their ability to communicate risks and benefits of vaccination, including the need to use social media for this purpose and seek greater support from the Ministry of Health and parents. Medical students have higher confidence in national and local health officials than practitioners. Conclusion: Neither practicing clinicians nor medical students feel adequately prepared to effectively address vaccine hesitancy. They need additional support from health authorities, particularly around communication and policy.