ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 90
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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Helping GPs explain COVID-19 vaccination risks and
benefits to patients with varying health literacy needs
Dr Carissa Bonner1, A/Prof John Litt3, Colleen Lau2, Helen Mayfield2, Melody Taba1, Michael Fajardo1
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The University of Sydney, 2University of Queensland, 3Flinders University
Background
The risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination are constantly evolving with new data and outbreaks.
To facilitate informed choice, a Covid Risk Calculator (CoRiCal) tool was developed by Australian GPs
and epidemiologists. People with low health literacy are less likely to understand and act on COVID-19
prevention advice, so we aimed to improve the health literacy design features of the tool.
Aim
To evaluate the effect of different risk communication formats on understanding of key messages
among people with varying health literacy.
Methods
An online trial with 2005 people was conducted in April 2023. Participants were randomised to see
one of four information formats: (1) standard government information about the Pfizer mRNA COVID
vaccine; (2) standard CoRiCal output based on bar graphs for risks versus benefits; (3) animation
explaining the bar graphs in ‘x per million’ format; and (4) animation explaining the bar graphs in ‘1
in x’ chance format. The primary outcome was knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine benefits/risks.
Secondary outcomes included booster intentions, emotional response, credibility and relevance.
Regression analyses controlled for age, gender, health literacy and COVID-19 vaccination doses.
Results
People with lower health literacy had lower knowledge, more negative emotional responses and lower
perceived credibility across groups. Both the ‘x per million’ and ‘1 in x chance’ animations increased
understanding of key messages about COVID-19 vaccination compared with standard government
information about the Pfizer vaccine. The ‘x per million’ format increased booster intentions, and static
bar graphs with no explanation reduced credibility. These effects were found across a sample with
varying health literacy levels.
Discussion
The results show that clear explanations of complex epidemiological models can improve knowledge
about COVID-19 risks and benefits across health literacy levels. The interactive website and animations
can be used by GPs to help explain COVID-19 vaccination options to patients.
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