PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 5, 2021) — As millions of people continue to roll up their sleeves each and every day to get vaccinated against COVID-19, researchers at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University are conducting a study to gauge perspectives about the vaccine and to determine if there are significant differences in opinion about it among varying populations in the United States.
Brown University’s Institutional Review Board approved the study, which consists of an anonymous online survey. It aims to determine if there are significant differences in participants’ vaccination perspectives along racial, geographic, socioeconomic, linguistic, and political bounds. The study is being conducted by the SURGE Lab, which is focused on research related to social determinants of health and healthcare disparities. Dr. Carla Moreira – a vascular surgeon with Brown Surgical Associates – established the SURGE lab in 2019 and is overseeing the students conducting the research project.
“This study is an opportunity to gain valuable information on the different factors that may influence a person’s decision to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Moreira, who is also an assistant professor at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine. “We hope to recruit study participants from every community but specifically from communities of color which have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Skenda Jean-Charles, who is conducting the study along with Kiara Corcoran Ruiz and Giancarlo Medina Perez, conceptualized the research after having conversations with her own close family members about vaccinations.
“It got me thinking about what wider vaccination perspectives may be and how those perspectives can shift across different communities. Kiara and I felt that a national, multilingual survey on these perspectives could help us to understand community concerns with vaccination,” Jean-Charles said. “Ultimately, we have all seen the negative impact of COVID-19 on the lives of so many and the disproportionate effects on historically marginalized communities. We hope that this survey can serve as a launch point for interventions that are aimed at reaching our most vulnerable communities, particularly when it comes to being vaccinated.”
The COVID-19 survey can be found online and is open to anyone 18 years old or above residing in the United States.
