Changes in perceptions of vaccine safety and hesitancy among incarcerated adults and correctional staff in the rural Midwest: May 2021 to October 2022

• In Event: Policy Panel: Health and Wellness in Prison Environments

Abstract

This paper discusses vaccine hesitancy among staff and incarcerated adults in one rural medium-
security prison in the Midwestern United States and identified differences in hesitancy across
sociodemographic and work-related variables across two time points. 610 and 538 prison staff
and people incarcerated completed a cross-sectional survey in May 2021 and October 2022,
respectively. The vaccine hesitancy scale (VHS) identified perceived risk and confidence in
vaccination. A single item assessed whether people typically follow public health protocols in
the prison. Vaccine hesitancy was moderate to high for both populations at Time 1. Incarcerated
people had more confidence in vaccination than staff; differences did not reach statistical
significance. Incarcerated people had statistically significantly higher perceptions of risk
compared to staff. These patters held at Time 2. Both populations reported doing their best to
follow public health protocols. For both populations, vaccine hesitancy varied by education and
veteran status. Among staff, hesitancy varied by gender and political beliefs. For people
incarcerated, it varied by pre-incarceration income and visit frequency. Results support the
ongoing need for public health policy and procedural interventions to reduce hesitancy towards
vaccination during and following prison.

Authors

• Kelli E. Canada, University of Missouri

• Ashley Givens, University of Missouri

• Beth Huebner, Arizona State University

• Janet Garcia-Hallett, University of New Haven

• Elizabeth Taylor, University of Missouri

• Dana Cafouek, Missouri Department of Corrections

• David Edwards, Missouri Department of Corrections