Supporting Primary Care Communication on Vaccination in Multilingual and Culturally Diverse Settings: Lessons from South Tyrol, Italy

Abstract

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is a major threat to public health. As part of efforts to increase vaccine uptake, the focus is on optimizing the quality of communication among healthcare workers. Physician shortages and workloads create time constraints, making communication interventions in primary care challenging. This study aimed to propose strategies to improve communication between general practitioners and vaccine-hesitant individuals. This narrative review addresses the specific needs of general practitioners for effective communication and proposes strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy in culturally and linguistically diverse regions. Methods: Systematic searches of EMBASE and PubMed were performed using terms related to vaccine hesitancy, communication strategies, primary care, and cultural diversity. Additionally, the websites of major health organizations were searched for relevant reports and guidelines. Selection criteria were based on the relevance and quality of the selected studies. Results: The findings highlight the importance of empathy, transparency, and personalized information in communication strategies. The need for communication training and addressing policy and workload barriers for healthcare providers is significant. The proposed strategy includes regular communication skills and cultural competency workshops, language training, the development of multilingual resources, implementation of telemedicine services, and active community engagement. Conclusions: Policy recommendations advocate for increased primary care resources, support from general practitioner unions, and the integration of digital tools. These strategies are essential to improve vaccine uptake and public health outcomes by enhancing the capacity of general practitioners to effectively engage with vaccine-hesitant patients.