Experience of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Iran: a descriptive phenomenological study

Background: Healthcare professionals have been the most severely affected by the global pandemic known as COVID-19. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of healthcare workers in Iran regarding COVID-19 vaccination using a descriptive phenomenological approach to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and concerns involved. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach was employed to carry out the present investigation. Twelve medical doctors and nurses who previously administered the vaccine or are still unsure about administering it have been chosen using a purposive sampling method. The data was acquired by employing a semi-structured in-depth interview, and the data was analyzed using Colaizzi and Max software's 7-step technique. Results: This study explores health personnel's attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. Among 12 participants, common reasons for vaccine hesitancy included distrust, perceived ineffectiveness, and concerns about vaccine safety. Conversely, motivations for vaccination included a sense of social responsibility, disease prevention, and advice from health experts. " Reasons for vaccine hesitancy" (vaccination infrastructure, social infrastructure, and personal infrastructure) and "justifications for administering vaccines" (sense of inevitability, comfort, social accountability, and disease management) are considered as principal and sub-categories classes, respectively. Conclusion: The health personnel reported diverse experiences related to vaccination. Overall, it can be concluded that as society and even medical professionals have become more accepting of the vaccine, there has been a significant improvement in the attitudes of healthcare professionals toward accepting the COVID-19 vaccine, along with an increase in trust.