Education increases COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people in Canadian federal prisons in a prospective randomized controlled trial: The EDUCATE study.

ABSTRACT

Education is key to behavioural adoption and acceptability of health interventions. We evaluated the impact of an educational intervention administered 11 to individuals incarcerated in four Canadian federal prisons on COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Eligible individuals (those who had refused all COVID-19 vaccines) were randomized 21 to receive the educational intervention or not (control group); those who received the intervention completed questionnaires assessing COVID-19 vaccine-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs pre- and post-educational intervention. The primary and secondary outcome measures were COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccine confidence, respectively. Between May 3 and September 9, 2022, 202 participants were randomized to receive the intervention, of whom 127 (63 %) agreed to participate. Participants who were randomized to the intervention had higher COVID-19 vaccine uptake vs. the control group (5 % vs 1 %, p = 0.046). COVID-19 vaccine-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs improved post-intervention. Education increases COVID-19 vaccine uptake and confidence among people in Canadian federal correctional facilities.