Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy is a significant public health concern, with numerous studies demonstrating its negative impact on immunization rates. One factor that can influence vaccine hesitancy is media coverage of vaccination. The media is a significant source of immunization information and can significant...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Computation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/10/208 |
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| author | Almudena Recio-Román Manuel Recio-Menéndez María Victoria Román-González |
| author_facet | Almudena Recio-Román Manuel Recio-Menéndez María Victoria Román-González |
| author_sort | Almudena Recio-Román |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaccine hesitancy is a significant public health concern, with numerous studies demonstrating its negative impact on immunization rates. One factor that can influence vaccine hesitancy is media coverage of vaccination. The media is a significant source of immunization information and can significantly shape people’s attitudes and behaviors toward vaccine uptake. Media influences vaccination positively or negatively. Accurate coverage of the benefits and effectiveness of vaccination can encourage uptake, while coverage of safety concerns or misinformation may increase hesitancy. Our study investigated whether vaccine hesitancy acts as a mediator between information sources and vaccination uptake. We analyzed a cross-sectional online survey by the European Commission of 27,524 citizens from all EU member states between 15 and 29 March 2019. The study used structural equation modeling to conduct a mediation analysis, revealing that the influence of media on vaccine uptake is fully mediated by vaccine hesitancy, except for television, which depicted an inconsistent mediating role. In other words, the effect of different media on vaccine uptake is largely driven by the extent to which individuals are hesitant or resistant to vaccinating. Therefore, media outlets, governments, and public health organizations must work together to promote accurate and reliable information about vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:20:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49b53fc46ae54601a8a50ed8553b186f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-3197 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:20:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computation |
| spelling | doaj.art-49b53fc46ae54601a8a50ed8553b186f2023-11-19T16:07:50ZengMDPI AGComputation2079-31972023-10-01111020810.3390/computation11100208Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine HesitancyAlmudena Recio-Román0Manuel Recio-Menéndez1María Victoria Román-González2ceiA3, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, SpainDepartment of Economic and Business, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, SpainDepartment of Economic and Business, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, SpainVaccine hesitancy is a significant public health concern, with numerous studies demonstrating its negative impact on immunization rates. One factor that can influence vaccine hesitancy is media coverage of vaccination. The media is a significant source of immunization information and can significantly shape people’s attitudes and behaviors toward vaccine uptake. Media influences vaccination positively or negatively. Accurate coverage of the benefits and effectiveness of vaccination can encourage uptake, while coverage of safety concerns or misinformation may increase hesitancy. Our study investigated whether vaccine hesitancy acts as a mediator between information sources and vaccination uptake. We analyzed a cross-sectional online survey by the European Commission of 27,524 citizens from all EU member states between 15 and 29 March 2019. The study used structural equation modeling to conduct a mediation analysis, revealing that the influence of media on vaccine uptake is fully mediated by vaccine hesitancy, except for television, which depicted an inconsistent mediating role. In other words, the effect of different media on vaccine uptake is largely driven by the extent to which individuals are hesitant or resistant to vaccinating. Therefore, media outlets, governments, and public health organizations must work together to promote accurate and reliable information about vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/10/208media influenceinconsistent mediationmediationstructural equation modelingvaccine hesitancyvaccine uptake |
| spellingShingle | Almudena Recio-Román Manuel Recio-Menéndez María Victoria Román-González Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy Computation media influence inconsistent mediation mediation structural equation modeling vaccine hesitancy vaccine uptake |
| title | Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy |
| title_full | Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy |
| title_short | Influence of Media Information Sources on Vaccine Uptake: The Full and Inconsistent Mediating Role of Vaccine Hesitancy |
| title_sort | influence of media information sources on vaccine uptake the full and inconsistent mediating role of vaccine hesitancy |
| topic | media influence inconsistent mediation mediation structural equation modeling vaccine hesitancy vaccine uptake |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/10/208 |
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