Browsing by Author "Haikal, Amne"

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    Human Papillomavirus vaccine uptake: Misinformation online and the healthcare providers’ role in reducing antivaccine sentiment
    (2021-08-27) Haikal, Amne; Boucher, Jean-Christophe
    Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections are one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in Canada (Government of Canada, 2020). HPV infections are often easy to treat, however, certain strains of the virus can progress and make the population more susceptible to different cancer diagnosis (2020). This is a concern, as cancer diagnoses related to HPV infection are expected to rise in Canada (Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, 2021). In 2008, Alberta implemented an HPV school vaccine program with young girls as the target group (Highet, Jessiman-Peerault, Hilton, Law & Allen-Scott,2020). Following this, the school vaccine program was expanded to include boys in the same age group (2020). In 2020, the province made a vaccine program inclusive of individuals between ages 18-26 to help promote uptake in this group (2020). Despite school vaccine programs and well-established efficacy and safety research of the vaccine, HPV vaccination levels remain suboptimal in Alberta and different parts of Canada (2020). This is attributable to several causes, however the spread of vaccine misinformation online in addition to the growing influence social media sites have on the public to obtain health information are identified as concerns (Ortiz, Smith & Coyne-Beasley, 2019). This paper will delve into the growing HPV antivaccine sentiment in Canada and its impact on health outcomes. In addition, it will discuss the important role healthcare workers have in addressing vaccine misinformation in efforts to improve vaccination rates. Healthcare providers remain the most trusted individuals to help reduce vaccine misinformation (Paterson et al., 2016). Their innate trust and title legitimize their claims and motivates individuals to value their advice and recommendations. In addition, this paper will discuss the current legislation set in place to regulate healthcare workers in Alberta. It will also offer an analysis of the already established social media documents that guide healthcare workers. The paper ends with a list of policy recommendations to mobilize healthcare workers and ensure that their voices are heard and utilized to help slow and address the spread of vaccine misinformation on social media in hopes of reducing antivaccine sentiment.