DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/8ZJJ-KM28
Defense Date
2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Health Psychology
First Advisor
Eric Benotsch
Abstract
As of March 11th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Early studies conducted among LGBT+ communities indicated that individuals of color and transgender individuals were more likely to express hesitation towards a possible COVID-19 vaccine. Such hesitation can be explained by historical medical mistreatment of people of color and LGBT+ communities which contributes to higher medical mistrust within these populations. The present study assessed vaccination behaviors among a sample of transgender and gender diverse individuals (N=385) and results indicated an association amongst experiences of discrimination in healthcare, medical mistrust, COVID-19 mistrust, barriers to vaccination, and having not receive a booster at the time of the study. Although race did not significantly contribute to any findings, binary gender predicted a delay in initial vaccination and having not received a booster at the time of the study. Participants who engaged in telehealth had lower vaccine hesitancy, lower COVID-19 mistrust, and lower perceived barrier to vaccination compared to participants who did not utilize telehealth during the pandemic. These results provide support for previous findings regarding TGD health, discrimination, and mistrust and contribute novel findings to the role of these factors when assessing COVID-19 vaccination behaviors amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
8-26-2022