COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among American Indian and Alaska native college students: the roles of discrimination, historical trauma, and healthcare system distrust

For American Indians and Alaska Native (AIAN) and other communities of color, experiences with discrimination and historical trauma may contribute to healthcare system distrust and negatively affect health care decisions, including vaccination. A saturated path analysis was conducted to examine the direct and indirect associations of thoughts regarding historical losses (of culture, language, and traditional ways) and AIAN racial discrimination with historical loss associated distress, healthcare system distrust, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among AIAN college students (N = 391). Historical loss thoughts and experiences with racial discrimination were strongly associated with each other, and both were uniquely associated with greater historical loss associated distress. In turn, historical loss associated distress was associated with greater healthcare system distrust, which in turn was associated with greater likelihood of being COVID-19 vaccine hesitant. While further research is needed, the findings suggest that to address health disparities for AIAN people it is necessary to consider how to best overcome healthcare system distrust and factors that contribute to it, including historical trauma and contemporary experiences with discrimination.