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Political legitimacy and vaccine hesitancy: Disability support workers in Australia

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  • Helen Dickinson
  • Anne Kavanagh
  • Stefanie Dimov
  • Marissa Shields
  • Ashley McAllister

Abstract

People with disability are an at-risk group in the COVID-19 pandemic for a range of clinical and socioeconomic reasons. In recognition of this, Australians with disability and those who work with them were prioritized in access to vaccination, but the vaccination targets were not met. In this paper, we analyze qualitative data generated from a survey with 368 disability support workers to identify drivers of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and why the implementation of this policy may have experienced challenges. We identify a range of themes within these data but ultimately argue that a major driver of vaccine hesitancy in this group is a mistrust of government and an erosion of employment terms and conditions. Drawing on the policy capacity literature, we argue that the “Achilles’ heel” for the Australian government in this case is the critical policy capacity of political legitimacy. This finding has important implications for where the government needs to increase/build policy capacity, strengthening its efforts and better relating to organizations that can be helpful in terms of developing public health messaging for disability support workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Dickinson & Anne Kavanagh & Stefanie Dimov & Marissa Shields & Ashley McAllister, 2023. "Political legitimacy and vaccine hesitancy: Disability support workers in Australia," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 42(1), pages 104-116.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:polsoc:v:42:y:2023:i:1:p:104-116.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/polsoc/puac030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Howlett & M. Ramesh, 2016. "Achilles' heels of governance: Critical capacity deficits and their role in governance failures," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 301-313, December.
    2. Marleen Easton & Jasper Paepe & Phoebe Evans & Brian W.Head & Jennifer Yarnold, 2022. "Embedding Expertise for Policy Responses to COVID-19: Comparing Decision-Making Structures in Two Federal Democracies," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 309-326, June.
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    4. Hill, Patrick L. & Burrow, Anthony L. & Strecher, Victor J., 2021. "Sense of purpose in life predicts greater willingness for COVID-19 vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    5. Freimuth, Vicki S. & Jamison, Amelia M. & An, Ji & Hancock, Gregory R. & Quinn, Sandra Crouse, 2017. "Determinants of trust in the flu vaccine for African Americans and Whites," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 70-79.
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    1. Fabiana da Cunha Saddi & Stephen Peckham & Gerald Bloom & Nick Turnbull & Vera Schattan Coelho & Jean-Louis Denis, 2023. "Employing the policy capacity framework for health system strengthening," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 42(1), pages 1-13.

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