I recently participated in a webinar with the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Center on Aging and Trauma regarding vaccination hesitancy. The topic is very important to me because it zeroes in on groups that have historically suffered trauma from being unknowingly or blatantly subjected to medical experiments; treatment withheld because of race or treatment needs misunderstood due to sexual orientation.
The issue of who remains unvaccinated is a complex question that cannot be easily attributed to misinformation alone. Experiencing the impact of traumatic events can create collective generational trauma, and these memories can be triggered accidentally by health providers. Health care workers will need to educate themselves on the power of traumatic histories and how it translates into trust or mistrust of the healthcare system.
Each individual should be met where they are. That means taking the time to understand past healthcare experiences, family healthcare beliefs and being sensitive to the origins of historical trauma that have impacted them. This level of awareness may provide healthcare workers some insight on how to discuss concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine from an “informed” approach, to find the path forward to acceptance.
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