Inoculation of COVID-19 Vaccine and the Paradox of Confidence in Performing Actual Clinical Duty: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Due to COVID-19, there is an urgent need for vaccine and yet, in most nations there is resistance to vaccination, which is both a conundrum and barrier ever present in health care. The purpose of this study was to explore the confidence and readiness of nursing faculty and students from the College of Health Sciences in Mindanao State University, Marawi City who have received complete vaccination against COVID-19 virus to perform actual clinical duty in a hospital or community setting using the constructs of the Health Belief Model. A multiple case study design approach was carried out using inductive coding process to elicit information from six faculty members and six nursing students. Ethical review and approval were not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Four themes emerged from data analysis: (1) Vaccination boosts confidence in one's capacity to do actual clinical duties, (2) fear as an impediment to confidence, (3) hesitations and reservations as hindrances to confidence, and (4) frustrations resulting from a lack of support from the stakeholders. While most participants expressed verbal confidence in executing clinical duties, they also expressed fears, anxiety, hesitations, and frustrations. This suggests that even if the participants feel confident, they have reasons that contradict their verbal certainty. This study highlights the importance of health education in the nursing profession, especially with COVID-19 and COVID-19 immunizations.