Course: Association of Guideline Complexity With Individuals’ Ability to Determine Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccination
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2022-10-04
Initial demand for COVID-19 vaccines exceeded early supply, so states created vaccine prioritization guidance. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also released guidance on prioritization. We assessed COVID-19 vaccine guideline complexity and the ability of individuals to identify their eligibility.
This cross-sectional population-based SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey study used a probability sample of addresses in the US from March 3 to April 21, 2021. The survey measured demographic factors, COVID-19 vaccine eligibility criteria, and perceived eligibility for vaccination. States a priori selected for this analysis based on having greater than 75 participants were the 5 largest states by population and Georgia (Georgia was oversampled). To determine participant vaccine eligibility, vaccine prioritization guidelines of each state were extracted from government communications (eAppendix 2 in the ). We used survey data to classify participants as vaccine eligible or ineligible based on survey completion date and policy effective date and applied state guidelines to participants’ reports of age, occupation, health conditions, and long-term care facility residence. Individuals were excluded if we could not determine vaccine eligibility (eg, imperfect match between survey-reported occupation and guideline occupation category) or individuals had been vaccinated. Guideline complexity was assessed by total word count and number of eligibility criteria (eAppendix 1 in the ). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were used to compare self-reported perceived vaccine eligibility with correct (study-determined) vaccine eligibility (eTable in the ). The association between guideline complexity and correct vaccine eligibility was determined with adjusted odds ratios (aORs), using logistic regression (SAS, version 9.4; SAS Institute) in which guideline complexity was assessed with states classified as either higher (word count >150, eligibility criteria >30) or lower (word count -150, eligibility criteria -30) complexity. Comparisons were 2-sided with significance set at ??=?.05. Emory University Institutional Review Board approved procedures and informed consent process. This study followed the reporting guideline.
Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
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