Location

McGill University

Category

Psychology, Vaccination

Recruitment status

Recruitment complete, follow-up currently in progress

Summary

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more prone to infections than people without RA. In particular, infections affecting the respiratory tract are more common but also more severe among people living with RA. The number of respiratory infections could be reduced if patients with RA were vaccinated against two of the most common organisms leading to respiratory infections: pneumococcus (bacterial pneumonia) and influenza (flu). Delays in accepting and refusing vaccines (vaccine hesitancy) occur in a significant number of RA patients. This proposal will (a) address the causes of vaccine hesitancy in RA, and will (b) evaluate whether an intervention that could empower patients to make decisions about vaccination is effective in reducing vaccine hesitancy.