Treatment and Vaccine Hesitancy - How to Effectively Talk with Patients

<p>Bruce Berger, Ph.D. - Berger Consulting LLC and Professor Emeritus, Auburn University - and Col. John D. Grabenstein, R.Ph., Ph.D. - Vaccine Dynamics SP - talk with us about treatment hesitancy, its root causes, and how health professionals can engage patients in treatment decisions more effectively.</p> <p>Key Lessons:</p> <ul><li>Treatment and vaccine hesitancy is often grounded in inadequate information, changing information (leading to doubt), personal beliefs,  misinformation, distrust (of the health care professional's motivations), and (sometimes) apathy. </li> <li>Actively soliciting and listening to a patient's concerns is the key to understanding the sources of doubt and hesitancy.</li> <li>Confrontation and dismissing a patient's understanding will cause "face loss" and lead to more resistance, not less.</li> <li>Monologues about "the facts" are not helpful. It is important to ask permission and then gently offer new information for the patient to consider.</li> <li>The patient is always driving the bus and all treatment decisions rest with them. The goal should be to become a trusted advisor who's always on the patient's side.</li> <li>It may take some patients several months (or even years) to arrive at a decision to start a new treatment or receive a vaccine.</li> <li>Our words can alienate a patient and sever a relationship. This is perhaps the worst possible outcome because it prevents us from having a positive influence in the future.</li> </ul> <p>Want to learn more about motivational interviewing and vaccinations?  Be sure to check out these resources:</p> <p> Immunization Action Coalition (<a href='http://www.immunize.org'>www.immunize.org</a>)</p> <p> <a href='https://www.mihcp.com'>ComMIt</a> - Comprehensive Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training</p> <p> <a href='https://ce.pharmacy.purdue.edu/mi/introduction'>eLearning MI Training for Health Professionals</a> - Purdue University</p> <p> Berger B.  <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/using-care-compassion-r