Understanding Barriers to Vaccine Administration

Describe your research in 1-5 sentences:

My project is entitled Understanding Barriers to Vaccine Administration: A Physician-Patient Perspective in Ethiopia. My goal with the project is to uncover and understand the reasons behind the disparity in vaccination coverage between countries in the Global North and South, particularly focusing on Ethiopia and the present issues. As suggested by the title, I am primarily interested in the perspectives of physicians and patients, rather than governmental or distribution issues, which have already been widely discussed in scholarly literature. Some of the topics addressed included vaccine hesitancy, patient outreach programs, physician-patient dialogue, vaccination advertising/education programs, family dynamics regarding vaccinations, the role of technology, transportation issues for patients, clinic and vaccination appointment accessibility, cultural/religious influences, etc.

How did you come to this work?

The reason I selected Ethiopia for my research was primarily because of my heritage, so I wanted to make an impact there. My summer research mainly consisted of interviews with physicians and health workers at three different health centers about the state of their situation in their area from both their own perspectives as well as their experiences with the people. Two of
the health centers were in the capital city of Addis Ababa, while the third health center was located in the town of Butajira, which was a rural town roughly eighty miles from the capital. I mainly chose these locations for convenience. I had personal connections in both areas, so being able to get research done there would be smoother. I also wanted to see any differences between
urban and rural areas.

What resonated with you as you conducted your research? What were you most excited or
surprised to find out?

I was particularly surprised by the extent of the effort physicians put into engaging with patients, especially in the rural area I visited. The physicians went door-to-door, educating patients and administering vaccines—an unexpected level of dedication and responsibility. Many religious/cultural figures impacted the vaccination coverage, both positively and negatively,
which was surprising to hear as well. When I was there, I also observed how overwhelmed some health workers were, even if they did not express it explicitly. In some cases, interviews had to be interrupted or even cut short due to the lack of time the health workers even had to speak with me.

How does this fit into your larger project?

Initially, I had hoped to conduct broader human subjects research, including gathering opinions from local citizens through interviews and focus group discussions as well as silent observation, but unfortunately, I lacked the time and resources. This aspect would form the next phase of the project, where I could include surveys, focus group discussions, silent observations, and other methods to capture both sides of the story I aim to investigate. The goal is to fully immerse myself in the community to properly observe and understand the issue at hand.