Browsing by Author "Kellner, James Duncan"

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    A Longitudinal Seroepidemiology Study to Evaluate Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 Virus and Vaccination in Children in Calgary, Canada from July 2020 to September 2022.
    (Canadian Immunization Conference, 2023-04-19) Doucette, Emily Jayne; Kellner, James Duncan
    Introduction: Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity is important to accurately understand exposure to infection and/or vaccination in populations. Methods: A cohort of children with or without prior SARS-CoV-2 infections was enrolled in Calgary, Canada in 2020. Venous blood was sampled 4 times from July 2020 to April 2022 for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike antibodies, with an additional 5th visit in the fall of 2022. Demographic and clinical information was obtained including SARS-CoV-2 test results and vaccination records. Results and analysis: 1035 children were enrolled and 88.9% completed 4 visits; median age 9 years (IQR: 5,13); 519 (50.1%) female; and 815 (78.7%) Caucasian. 477 (46.1%) participants attended Visit 5. Before enrollment, 118 (11.4%) had confirmed or probable SARS-CoV-2 infection. By September 2022, the total cumulative percentage of previously uninfected participants diagnosed with COVID-19 was 53.9% by Visit 5. (0/917 (0%), 15/873 (1.7%), 31/837 (3.7%), 280/820 (34.1%), and 63/439 (14.4%) at Visits 1-5, respectively). Nucleocapsid antibody seropositivity declined to 18.0% after more than 200 days after diagnosis. In contrast, spike antibodies remained elevated in 97.6% of unvaccinated children after more than 400 days after diagnosis. By September 2022, 97.1% (232/239) of children 12 years and older, 85.9% (171/199) of children 5-11, and 15.4% (6/39) of children under 5 received at least 1 dose of vaccine. At that time, all 409 vaccinated children had spike antibodies, compared with 38/64 (59.4%) of unvaccinated children (P<0.001 for comparison of proportions). Conclusions: By September 2022, most children in the study had a serologic response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus from infection and/or vaccination, with unvaccinated children much less likely to have a serologic response. Ongoing studies of serologic status are needed to estimate population levels of virus exposure and durability of antibody response after infection and/or vaccination.
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    An Evaluation of an Online Learning Module to Increase the Confidence and Self-Efficacy of Canadian Healthcare Trainees in Vaccine Communication, Advocacy, and Promotion.
    (2023-06) Doucette, Emily Jayne; Kellner, James Duncan; Constantinescu, Cora-Mihaela; Leal, Jenine Rocha; MacDonnald, Shannon Elizabeth; McNeil, Deborah Ann
    Introduction: Vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to public health. Healthcare providers (HCPs) are well positioned to address vaccine hesitancy, however there are few accessible and multidisciplinary educational tools available to teach HCPs how to engage in challenging vaccine conversations. Based on this need, virtual simulation games (VSGs) were developed to improve the confidence and self-efficacy of HCP learners to prepare them for future roles in vaccine advocacy, delivery, and promotion. The objectives of this thesis were to 1) evaluate the impact of the VSGs on HCP learners’ confidence and self-efficacy; and 2) explore HCP learners’ previous experiences and qualitatively evaluate the VSGs prior to dissemination. Methods: This study, which utilized a pragmatic sequential embedded mixed-methods design, involved quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the VSGs through a pre-post study with 72 HCP learners, followed by qualitative focus groups with a subset of 22 participants. HCP learners in nursing (n=24), pharmacy (n=30), and medicine (n=18) were included from the University of Calgary and the University of Waterloo. Three key themes were identified through pragmatic thematic analysis. Results: No significant differences in baseline confidence and self-efficacy were identified across the three HCP disciplines. Only 54.2% of participants reported previously learning about vaccine communication in their programs. The VSGs significantly improved these attributes in all disciplines (P<0.001). During focus groups, participants expressed 1) their previous education lacked training on holding vaccine conversations, resulting in uncomfortable experiences; 2) the VSGs increased their confidence by providing novel tools and skills; and 3) participants provided feedback to improve the VSGs. Conclusions: This study supports the use of the VSGs as an effective educational tool as HCP learners showed significant improvement in their self-assessed confidence, self-efficacy, and willingness to engage in vaccine conversations. In particular, the VSGs introduced innovative strategies for HCP to initiate these conversations, and participants appreciated the emphasis on resilience and managing emotions. In combination with existing immunization training, these and future VSGs can be designed and implemented to allow HCP to address vaccine hesitancy more effectively to increase vaccine confidence and uptake.