Investigating practices and difficulties in communicating with patients about COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Italy

The aims of this cross-sectional study were to understand the healthcare workers' (HCWs) practices and difficulties in communicating with patients about COVID-19 vaccinations, to investigate the factors associated, and to identify targets to improve the efficacy of the COVID-19 immunization strategy. Questionnaires were administered between November 2021 and March 2022 in three immunization centers in Italy. More than half of HCWs (56.8%) reported to always recommend COVID-19 vaccination to their patients, and the recommendations for other vaccinations were provided by 50.4% of the participants. Physicians/medical residents, males, and those who recommended other vaccinations to their patients were more likely to always recommend COVID-19 vaccination. The participants' perception of difficulties in communicating with patients about COVID-19 vaccination and the impact of sources of information on patients' knowledge about vaccination, explored using a ten-point Likert-type scale, resulted in a mean value of 6.3 and 7.9, respectively. A higher level of perception regarding difficulties in communicating with patients was more likely to be found among nurses/midwives and younger HCWs. It is important to reduce HCWs' perceived gap regarding difficulties in communicating with patients, supporting them through health policy to recommend vaccinations, and engaging them in increasing uptake rates.