Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging
ABSTRACTIncreasing vaccination acceptance has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for future public health emergencies. This study aimed to identify messaging strategies to encourage vaccine uptake by measuring the drivers of COVID-19 vaccination among the general public....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2023.2266929 |
| _version_ | 1797348410343292928 |
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| author | Sarah R. MacEwan Eben Kenah Graham N. Dixon Jack Stevens Leanna Perez Eiterman Jonathan R. Powell Christopher B. Gage Laura J. Rush Ashish R. Panchal Ann Scheck McAlearney |
| author_facet | Sarah R. MacEwan Eben Kenah Graham N. Dixon Jack Stevens Leanna Perez Eiterman Jonathan R. Powell Christopher B. Gage Laura J. Rush Ashish R. Panchal Ann Scheck McAlearney |
| author_sort | Sarah R. MacEwan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTIncreasing vaccination acceptance has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for future public health emergencies. This study aimed to identify messaging strategies to encourage vaccine uptake by measuring the drivers of COVID-19 vaccination among the general public. A survey to assess COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and hesitancy was advertised on Facebook in February–April 2022. The survey included items asking about COVID-19 vaccination status and participant demographics, and three scales assessing medical mistrust, perceived COVID-19 risk, and COVID-19 vaccine confidence (adapted from the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine confidence and complacency scale). The main outcome was vaccination, predicted by patient demographics and survey scale scores. Of 1,915 survey responses, 1,450 (75.7%) were included, with 1,048 (72.3%) respondents reporting they had been vaccinated. In a multivariable regression model, the COVID-19 vaccine confidence scale was the strongest predictor of vaccination, along with education level and perceived COVID-19 risk. Among the items on this scale, not all were equally important in predicting COVID-19 vaccination. The items that best predicted vaccination, at a given score on the COVID-19 vaccine confidence scale, included confidence that vaccine side effects are minimal, that the vaccine will work, that the vaccine will help the community, and that the vaccine provides freedom to move on with life. This study improved our understanding of perceptions most strongly associated with vaccine acceptance, allowing us to consider how to develop messages that may be particularly effective in encouraging vaccination among the general public for both the COVID-19 pandemic and future public health emergencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:04:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33aa95e6c2a443bd897bd7c97a4cecb0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2164-5515 2164-554X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:04:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-33aa95e6c2a443bd897bd7c97a4cecb02024-01-23T09:36:33ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2023-12-0119310.1080/21645515.2023.2266929Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messagingSarah R. MacEwan0Eben Kenah1Graham N. Dixon2Jack Stevens3Leanna Perez Eiterman4Jonathan R. Powell5Christopher B. Gage6Laura J. Rush7Ashish R. Panchal8Ann Scheck McAlearney9Division of General Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USADivision of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USASchool of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USAThe Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Columbus, OH, USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Columbus, OH, USAThe Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Columbus, OH, USAThe Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics, and Systems Thinking in Health Services and Implementation Science Research (CATALYST), College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USAABSTRACTIncreasing vaccination acceptance has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for future public health emergencies. This study aimed to identify messaging strategies to encourage vaccine uptake by measuring the drivers of COVID-19 vaccination among the general public. A survey to assess COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and hesitancy was advertised on Facebook in February–April 2022. The survey included items asking about COVID-19 vaccination status and participant demographics, and three scales assessing medical mistrust, perceived COVID-19 risk, and COVID-19 vaccine confidence (adapted from the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine confidence and complacency scale). The main outcome was vaccination, predicted by patient demographics and survey scale scores. Of 1,915 survey responses, 1,450 (75.7%) were included, with 1,048 (72.3%) respondents reporting they had been vaccinated. In a multivariable regression model, the COVID-19 vaccine confidence scale was the strongest predictor of vaccination, along with education level and perceived COVID-19 risk. Among the items on this scale, not all were equally important in predicting COVID-19 vaccination. The items that best predicted vaccination, at a given score on the COVID-19 vaccine confidence scale, included confidence that vaccine side effects are minimal, that the vaccine will work, that the vaccine will help the community, and that the vaccine provides freedom to move on with life. This study improved our understanding of perceptions most strongly associated with vaccine acceptance, allowing us to consider how to develop messages that may be particularly effective in encouraging vaccination among the general public for both the COVID-19 pandemic and future public health emergencies.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2023.2266929COVID-19 vaccinevaccine hesitancypublic healthsurveycommunication |
| spellingShingle | Sarah R. MacEwan Eben Kenah Graham N. Dixon Jack Stevens Leanna Perez Eiterman Jonathan R. Powell Christopher B. Gage Laura J. Rush Ashish R. Panchal Ann Scheck McAlearney Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics COVID-19 vaccine vaccine hesitancy public health survey communication |
| title | Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging |
| title_full | Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging |
| title_fullStr | Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging |
| title_short | Identifying beliefs driving COVID-19 vaccination: Lessons for effective messaging |
| title_sort | identifying beliefs driving covid 19 vaccination lessons for effective messaging |
| topic | COVID-19 vaccine vaccine hesitancy public health survey communication |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2023.2266929 |
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