Online media use and HPV vaccination intentions in mainland China: integrating marketing and communication perspectives to improve public health

Understanding Chinese international students' perception of flu vaccination on U.S. college campuses

Objective: This study examines Chinese international students' underlying beliefs and overall perception of the flu vaccination to inform effective health promotion efforts on U.S. college campuses. Participants: Data were collected in March 2020. Participants (N = 189) were recruited via email at a southeastern university in the U.S. Methods: Incorporating theory recommendations and recent vaccine-related research findings, this study designs a Four-Factor Measurement Model through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine Chinese international students' perception of flu vaccination. Results: Chinese international students' health beliefs, particularly their perceived susceptibility of the influenza virus, was the most important factor to explain their perception of flu vaccination. While normative beliefs were the least influential factor to account for Chinese international students' perception of flu vaccination, these students valued healthcare providers' opinions immensely. Conclusions: This study suggests the Four-Factor Measurement Model will help measure Chinese international students' perception of flu vaccination and can be applied to future vaccine-related research.

Disappearing Negative Valence: A Content Analysis of HPV Vaccine Newspaper Coverage in China (2000-2018)

News coverage of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine grew rapidly in China in 2016 when the vaccine was approved. Drawing upon framing theory, the present study analyzed the content of 491 Chinese newspaper reports on the HPV vaccine published between June 2000 and December 2018 to investigate what and how information and valence about the vaccine was relayed to the public. The results indicated that, while the Chinese media failed to provide comprehensive and accurate information about HPV and the HPV vaccine, they showed a positive evaluation of the HPV vaccine demand and market. In addition, there was a decline in negative coverage after the vaccine was approved. This study extended the literature on HPV vaccine coverage by combining issue-specific framing and valence framing, considering the Chinese-specific vaccine market for presentation and the value of such products, which is rare in previous studies. Practical implications of the findings for health promotion were also discussed.

Students' Views on Vaccination against COVID-19 Virus and Trust in Media Information about the Vaccine: The Case of Serbia

Mass immunization of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia began in January 2021. Information on the significance, manner, advantages and consequences of this process was intensively distributed through all communication channels, with the media playing a key role. According to the data of the official institutions for the public health of Serbia, by July 2021 the lowest percentage of vaccinated population was among those between the ages of 18 and 24—only 15% of this demographic had received the vaccine by this point. Given the low turnout of young people for vaccination, in this paper we investigated the general attitude of students in Serbia, as a special category of young people, towards the vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, as well as their attitude regarding information about vaccination in the media. Research was conducted on a sample of 345 students at the University of Novi Sad. The results of the research showed that 42% of students had not been vaccinated and did not plan to do so, 37.4% had received at least one dose of vaccine and 20.6% had not been vaccinated even though they planned to do so. Students who were vaccinated had more confidence in information provided through media channels than those who were not vaccinated. Therefore, it can be concluded that encouraging students to decide in favor of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus should come from the universities where they study as well as the media.

Preference and willingness to pay of female college students for human papillomavirus vaccination in Zhejiang Province, China: A discrete choice experiment

The study aimed to quantify the preferences of female college students for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Zhejiang Province, China, using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). One medical college and one nonmedical college were selected using convenience sampling, and the respondents were identified using stratified cluster sampling. A DCE focused on vaccine-related and service-related attributes was conducted in 2019. Latent class analysis was used to estimate the vaccine-related attributes, and conditional logistic regression was used to construct the choice model for the service-related attributes. In total, 850 female college students finished the study. Two latent classes were identified. Those who had more knowledge of HPV and felt more pressure about the related infection and diseases had a significantly higher chance of belonging to class 1 and were more likely to choose vaccination (percentages of respondents choosing no vaccination was 1.1% in class 1 versus 84.7% in class 2, χ² = 641.1, P < .01). There were 742 respondents who chose vaccination in vaccine-related scenes, and 98.8% of them still chose to receive the vaccine in service-related scenes. Ways of making an appointment, number of weeks waiting for vaccination, service time for vaccination, time to the nearest vaccination site, and added cost all impacted the probability of choosing HPV vaccination services. It is concluded that higher levels of HPV knowledge and sociopsychological pressure led to a higher probability of HPV vaccination uptake in China. It is necessary to disseminate proper knowledge of HPV to improve the coverage and equality of HPV vaccination.

Behavioural intention of receiving COVID-19 vaccination, social media exposures and peer discussions in China

The study aimed to investigate behavioural intentions to receive free and self-paid COVID-19 vaccinations (BICV-F and BICV-SP) among Chinese university students if the vaccine was 80% effective with rare mild side effects, to examine their associations with social media exposures and peer discussions regarding COVID-19 vaccination, and to explore the mediational role of perceived information sufficiency about COVID-19 vaccination. An online anonymous survey (N = 6922) was conducted in November 2020 in five Chinese provinces. Logistic regression and path analysis were adopted. The prevalence of BICV-F and BICV-SP were 78.1% and 57.7%. BICV-F was positively associated with the frequencies of passive social media exposure (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.32, P < 0.001), active social media interaction (AOR = 1.13, P < 0.001) and peer discussions (AOR = 1.17, P < 0.001). Indirect effects of the three factors on BICV-F via perceived information sufficiency were all significant (P < 0.001). The direct effect of active social media interaction on BICV-F was significantly negative (P < 0.001). Similar associations/mediations were observed for BICV-SP. The COVID-19 vaccination intention of Chinese university students needs improvement. Boosting social media exposures and peer discussions may raise students' perceived information sufficiency and subsequently increase their vaccination intention. Considering the potential negative effect of active social media interaction, caution is needed when using social media to promote COVID-19 vaccination.

Marketing in the Public Sector—Benefits and Barriers: A Bibliometric Study from 1931 to 2020

The global economy has brought economic and social changes that have led organizations to extend their vision beyond consumer and business markets. Particularly, in the marketing of public sector (MPS), the extant theoretical foundations require more comprehensive investigations not only into the main topics researchers have looked into the past, but also into the new challenges they will face in the future. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide a thorough a bibliometric overview of the theoretical framework and to identify benefits and barriers of marketing in the public sector. We provide an overview of the theoretical framework and identify the benefits and barriers of marketing in the public sector through a bibliometric study. To achieve this objective, a systematic literature review was conducted of 3926 articles from 1931 to 2020. The results allowed the identification of four main theoretical clusters: educational, public health, social economics and urban politics. It also offered benefits and barriers in the context of MPS. Conclusions and implications to the academia and managers are drawn. Future research opportunities are also provided.