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Lillie HM, Ratcliff CL, King AJ, Pokharel M, Jensen JD. Using narratives to correct politically charged health misinformation and address affective belief echoes. J Public Health (Oxf) 2024; 46:430-436. [PMID: 38632889 PMCID: PMC11358629 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdae050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In May 2020, news outlets reported misinformation about the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) related to COVID-19. Correcting misinformation about outbreaks and politics is particularly challenging. Affective belief echoes continue to influence audiences even after successful correction. Narrative and emotional flow scholarship suggest that a narrative corrective with a positive ending could reduce belief echoes. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of a narrative corrective with a relief ending for correcting misinformation about the CDC. METHODS Between 29 May and 4 June 2020, we tested the effectiveness of a narrative to correct this misinformation. Participants in the United States (N = 469) were enrolled via Qualtrics panels in an online message experiment and randomized to receive a narrative corrective, a didactic corrective or no corrective. RESULTS The narrative corrective resulted in lower endorsement of the misinformation compared with the control and the didactic corrective. The narrative corrective had a positive indirect effect on perceived CDC competence and mask wearing intentions for politically moderate and conservative participants via relief. CONCLUSIONS Public health institutions, such as the CDC, should consider utilizing narrative messaging with positive emotion endings to correct misinformation. Narratives better address affective belief echoes, particularly for counter-attitudinal audiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen M Lillie
- Department of Communication Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA
| | - Chelsea L Ratcliff
- Department of Communication Studies, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, USA
| | - Andy J King
- Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA
| | - Manusheela Pokharel
- Department of Communication Studies, Texas State University, San Marcos 78666, USA
| | - Jakob D Jensen
- Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA
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2
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Zhao W, Russell CM, Jankovsky A, Cannon TD, Pittenger C, Pushkarskaya H. Information processing style and institutional trust as factors of COVID vaccine hesitancy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10416. [PMID: 38710827 PMCID: PMC11074285 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60788-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the factors contributing to COVID vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy has commonly been attributed to susceptibility to misinformation and linked to particular socio-demographic factors and personality traits. We present a new perspective, emphasizing the interplay between individual cognitive styles and perceptions of public health institutions. In January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 318 participants underwent a comprehensive assessment, including self-report measures of personality and clinical characteristics, as well as a behavioral task that assessed information processing styles. During 2021, attitudes towards vaccines, scientists, and the CDC were measured at three time points (February-October). Panel data analysis and structural equation modeling revealed nuanced relationships between these measures and information processing styles over time. Trust in public health institutions, authoritarian submission, and lower information processing capabilities together contribute to vaccine acceptance. Information processing capacities influenced vaccination decisions independently from the trust level, but their impact was partially mediated by authoritarian tendencies. These findings underscore the multifactorial nature of vaccine hesitancy, which emerges as a product of interactions between individual cognitive styles and perceptions of public health institutions. This novel perspective provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that drive this complex phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanchen Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 100 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
| | - Catherine Maya Russell
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Anastasia Jankovsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Tyrone D Cannon
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 100 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Christopher Pittenger
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 100 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Helen Pushkarskaya
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
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3
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Olusanya OA, Masters NB, Zhang F, Sugerman DE, Carter RJ, Weiss D, Singleton JA. Sociodemographic Trends and Correlation between Parental Hesitancy towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines and Routine Childhood Immunizations in the United States: 2021-2022 National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module. Vaccines (Basel) 2024; 12:495. [PMID: 38793746 PMCID: PMC11126092 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12050495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Multiple factors may influence parental vaccine hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and routine childhood immunizations (RCIs). Using the United States National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module data collected from parents/guardians of children aged 5-11 years, this cross-sectional study (1) identified the trends and prevalence estimates of parental hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs, (2) examined the relationship between hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs, and (3) assessed trends in parental hesitancy towards RCIs by sociodemographic characteristics and behavioral and social drivers of COVID-19 vaccination. From November 2021 to July 2022, 54,329 parents or guardians were interviewed. During this 9-month period, the proportion of parents hesitant about pediatric COVID-19 vaccines increased by 15.8 percentage points (24.8% to 40.6%). Additionally, the proportion of parents who reported RCIs hesitancy increased by 4.7 percentage points from November 2021 to May 2022 but returned to baseline by July 2022. Over nine months, parents' concerns about pediatric COVID-19 infections declined; however, parents were increasingly worried about pediatric COVID-19 vaccine safety and overall importance. Furthermore, pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent among parents of children who were White (43.2%) versus Black (29.3%) or Hispanic (26.9%) and those residing in rural (51.3%) compared to urban (28.9%) areas. In contrast, RCIs hesitancy was higher among parents of children who were Black (32.0%) versus Hispanic (24.5%) or White (23.6%). Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 2-6 times as prevalent among parents who were RCIs hesitant compared to those who were RCIs non-hesitant. This positive correlation between parental hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and RCIs was observed for all demographic and psychosocial factors for unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios. Parent-provider interactions should increase vaccine confidence, shape social norms, and facilitate behavior change to promote pediatric vaccination rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olufunto A. Olusanya
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
- Center for Biomedical Informatics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
| | - Nina B. Masters
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Fan Zhang
- Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA (J.A.S.)
| | - David E. Sugerman
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Rosalind J. Carter
- Office of the Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Debora Weiss
- Division of Global HIV and TB, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - James A. Singleton
- Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA (J.A.S.)
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4
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Bergenfeld I. What can public health communicators learn from Reddit? A perspective for the next pandemic. Front Public Health 2024; 12:1348095. [PMID: 38651132 PMCID: PMC11033353 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1348095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Irina Bergenfeld
- Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
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5
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Domaradzki J, Jabkowski P, Walkowiak D. Investigating Beliefs in Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories among Medical Students. Vaccines (Basel) 2024; 12:359. [PMID: 38675741 PMCID: PMC11054095 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12040359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
While the doctors' role in immunization is essential, their lack of knowledge or vaccine hesitancy may affect their ability to communicate effectively and educate patients about vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine conspiracy theories. This, in turn, may hinder health policy aimed at fighting infectious diseases. Vaccine hesitancy is prevalent not only among the general population but also among healthcare workers; thus, this study is aimed at assessing future doctors' attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories. A total of 441 medical students at Poznan University of Medical Sciences completed a web-based survey designed to explore their attitudes toward the six most prevalent anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The survey showed that although over 97% of future doctors support vaccinations as an effective form of fighting infectious diseases, and 80% did not believe in any anti-vax conspiracy theory, a significant fraction of 20% of medical students either believed in at least one such theory or were unsure. It has also shown that male and younger students who had not received a flu vaccination and defined themselves as politically right-wing or conservative and religious were more likely to believe in anti-vax conspiracy theories. Our data suggest that, in order to overcome medical students' ambivalent attitudes towards anti-vax conspiracy theories, they should receive more education about the importance of vaccination in preventing disease and about effective ways to combat vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax conspiracy theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Domaradzki
- Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Rokietnicka 7, 60-806 Poznań, Poland
| | - Piotr Jabkowski
- Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 60-568 Poznań, Poland
| | - Dariusz Walkowiak
- Department of Organization and Management in Health Care, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-356 Poznań, Poland
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6
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Terry K, Yang F, Yao Q, Liu C. The role of social media in public health crises caused by infectious disease: a scoping review. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e013515. [PMID: 38154810 PMCID: PMC10759087 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic highlighted the increasing role played by social media in the generation, dissemination and consumption of outbreak-related information. OBJECTIVE The objective of the current review is to identify and summarise the role of social media in public health crises caused by infectious disease, using a five-step scoping review protocol. EVIDENCE REVIEW Keyword lists for two categories were generated: social media and public health crisis. By combining these keywords, an advanced search of various relevant databases was performed to identify all articles of interest from 2000 to 2021, with an initial retrieval date of 13 December 2021. A total of six medical and health science, psychology, social science and communication databases were searched: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO and CNKI. A three-stage screening process against inclusion and exclusion criteria was conducted. FINDINGS A total of 338 studies were identified for data extraction, with the earliest study published in 2010. Thematic analysis of the role of social media revealed three broad themes: surveillance monitoring, risk communication and disease control. Within these themes, 12 subthemes were also identified. Within surveillance monitoring, the subthemes were disease detection and prediction, public attitude and attention, public sentiment and mental health. Within risk communication, the subthemes were health advice, information-seeking behaviour, infodemics/misinformation circulation, seeking help online, online distance education and telehealth. Finally, within disease control, the subthemes were government response, public behaviour change and health education information quality. It was clear that the pace of research in this area has gradually increased over time as social media has evolved, with an explosion in attention following the outbreak of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Social media has become a hugely powerful force in public health and cannot be ignored or viewed as a minor consideration when developing public health policy. Limitations of the study are discussed, along with implications for government, health authorities and individual users. The pressing need for government and health authorities to formalise evidence-based strategies for communicating via social media is highlighted, as well as issues for individual users in assessing the quality and reliability of information consumed on social media platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty Terry
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University - Bundoora Campus, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Fei Yang
- School of Political Science and Public Administration, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Qiang Yao
- School of Political Science and Public Administration, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Chaojie Liu
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University - Bundoora Campus, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
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7
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Sommariva S, Bon HB, De Almeida S, Mote J, Brouwers S, Sani M, Fol N. Integrated analysis of online signals and insight generation about digital conversations on COVID-19 vaccines in Eastern and Southern Africa: a longitudinal analysis of social listening data. BMC Proc 2023; 17:7. [PMID: 37403116 DOI: 10.1186/s12919-023-00261-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 pandemic, social listening programs across digital channels have become an integral part of health preparedness and response planning, allowing to capture and address questions, information needs, and misinformation shared by users. This study identifies key social listening trends around COVID-19 vaccines in Eastern and Southern Africa and analyses how online conversations about this issue evolved over time. METHODS A taxonomy developed and refined in collaboration with social and behaviour change teams was used to filter online conversations into nine subtopic categories. The taxonomy was applied to online content tracked in 21 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa over the period December 1, 2020-December 31, 2021. Metrics captured included volume of posts or articles and related user engagement. Qualitative analysis of content was conducted to identify key concerns, information voids and misinformation. RESULTS Over 300,000 articles and posts about COVID-19 vaccines shared by users or outlets geolocated in the region were analysed. These results generated over 14 million engagements on social media and digital platforms. The analysis shows how conversations about access and availability of vaccines represented the largest share of engagement over the course of the period. Conversations about vaccine effectiveness and safety represented the second and third largest share of engagement, with peaks observed in August and November 2021. Online interest in childhood vaccination increased over time as vaccine eligibility criteria expanded in some countries in the region. Conversations mentioning mandates and certificates peaked in the last quarter of 2021, as governments as private sector entities expanded vaccine requirements. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study show the importance of monitoring conversation trends over time and adjust social listening data collection systems to include emerging topics. The study also points to the need to consider concerns, information voids and misinformation around effectiveness and safety of vaccines in the context of overall concern for vaccine availability and access in Eastern and Southern Africa. This is fundamental to inform social and behaviour change strategies that promote vaccine demand effectively, without increasing public frustration over vaccine availability challenges and downplaying concerns around vaccine equity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Sommariva
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - Helena Ballester Bon
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sofia De Almeida
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Jenna Mote
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sijmen Brouwers
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Massimiliano Sani
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Natalie Fol
- UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Section, Nairobi, Kenya
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8
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Green J, Druckman JN, Baum MA, Ognyanova K, Simonson MD, Perlis RH, Lazer D. Media use and vaccine resistance. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad146. [PMID: 37188276 PMCID: PMC10178922 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Public health requires collective action-the public best addresses health crises when individuals engage in prosocial behaviors. Failure to do so can have dire societal and economic consequences. This was made clear by the disjointed, politicized response to COVID-19 in the United States. Perhaps no aspect of the pandemic exemplified this challenge more than the sizeable percentage of individuals who delayed or refused vaccination. While scholars, practitioners, and the government devised a range of communication strategies to persuade people to get vaccinated, much less attention has been paid to where the unvaccinated could be reached. We address this question using multiple waves of a large national survey as well as various secondary data sets. We find that the vaccine resistant seems to predictably obtain information from conservative media outlets (e.g. Fox News) while the vaccinated congregate around more liberal outlets (e.g. MSNBC). We also find consistent evidence that vaccine-resistant individuals often obtain COVID-19 information from various social media, most notably Facebook, rather than traditional media sources. Importantly, such individuals tend to exhibit low institutional trust. While our results do not suggest a failure of sites such as Facebook's institutional COVID-19 efforts, as the counterfactual of no efforts is unknown, they do highlight an opportunity to reach those who are less likely to take vital actions in the service of public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Green
- Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02148, United States
- Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - James N Druckman
- Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
| | - Matthew A Baum
- Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Katherine Ognyanova
- School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
| | - Matthew D Simonson
- Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Roy H Perlis
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, United States
| | - David Lazer
- Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02148, United States
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9
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Dupuy-Zini A, Audeh B, Gérardin C, Duclos C, Gagneux-Brunon A, Bousquet C. Users' Reactions to Announced Vaccines Against COVID-19 Before Marketing in France: Analysis of Twitter Posts. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e37237. [PMID: 36596215 PMCID: PMC10132828 DOI: 10.2196/37237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Within a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread to many countries and had been a real challenge for health systems all around the world. This unprecedented crisis has led to a surge of online discussions about potential cures for the disease. Among them, vaccines have been at the heart of the debates and have faced lack of confidence before marketing in France. OBJECTIVE This study aims to identify and investigate the opinions of French Twitter users on the announced vaccines against COVID-19 through sentiment analysis. METHODS This study was conducted in 2 phases. First, we filtered a collection of tweets related to COVID-19 available on Twitter from February 2020 to August 2020 with a set of keywords associated with vaccine mistrust using word embeddings. Second, we performed sentiment analysis using deep learning to identify the characteristics of vaccine mistrust. The model was trained on a hand-labeled subset of 4548 tweets. RESULTS A set of 69 relevant keywords were identified as the semantic concept of the word "vaccin" (vaccine in French) and focused mainly on conspiracies, pharmaceutical companies, and alternative treatments. Those keywords enabled us to extract nearly 350,000 tweets in French. The sentiment analysis model achieved 0.75 accuracy. The model then predicted 16% of positive tweets, 41% of negative tweets, and 43% of neutral tweets. This allowed us to explore the semantic concepts of positive and negative tweets and to plot the trends of each sentiment. The main negative rhetoric identified from users' tweets was that vaccines are perceived as having a political purpose and that COVID-19 is a commercial argument for the pharmaceutical companies. CONCLUSIONS Twitter might be a useful tool to investigate the arguments for vaccine mistrust because it unveils political criticism contrasting with the usual concerns on adverse drug reactions. As the opposition rhetoric is more consistent and more widely spread than the positive rhetoric, we believe that this research provides effective tools to help health authorities better characterize the risk of vaccine mistrust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Dupuy-Zini
- Laboratoire d'Informatique Médicale et d'Ingénierie des connaissances en e-Santé, LIMICS, Sorbonne Université, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Bissan Audeh
- Laboratoire d'Informatique Médicale et d'Ingénierie des connaissances en e-Santé, LIMICS, Sorbonne Université, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Christel Gérardin
- Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Département de médecine interne, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Catherine Duclos
- Laboratoire d'Informatique Médicale et d'Ingénierie des connaissances en e-Santé, LIMICS, Sorbonne Université, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Amandine Gagneux-Brunon
- Groupe sur l'Immunité des Muqueuses et Agents Pathogènes, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, University of Lyon, Saint Etienne, France
- Vaccinologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Etienne, Saint Etienne, France
| | - Cedric Bousquet
- Laboratoire d'Informatique Médicale et d'Ingénierie des connaissances en e-Santé, LIMICS, Sorbonne Université, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, INSERM, Paris, France
- Service de santé publique et information médicale, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne, Saint Etienne, France
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10
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Gallegos M, de Castro Pecanha V, Caycho-Rodríguez T. Anti-vax: the history of a scientific problem. J Public Health (Oxf) 2023; 45:e140-e141. [PMID: 35428036 PMCID: PMC9383768 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdac048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Gallegos
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.,Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicología, Pontificia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.,Instituto Rosario de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Educación, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rosario, Argentina
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11
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Zang S, Zhang X, Xing Y, Chen J, Lin L, Hou Z. Applications of Social Media and Digital Technologies in COVID-19 Vaccination: Scoping Review. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e40057. [PMID: 36649235 PMCID: PMC9924059 DOI: 10.2196/40057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social media and digital technologies have played essential roles in disseminating information and promoting vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to summarize the applications and analytical techniques of social media and digital technologies in monitoring vaccine attitudes and administering COVID-19 vaccines. OBJECTIVE We aimed to synthesize the global evidence on the applications of social media and digital technologies in COVID-19 vaccination and to explore their avenues to promote COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, EBSCO, and IEEE Xplore) for English-language articles from December 2019 to August 2022. The search terms covered keywords relating to social media, digital technology, and COVID-19 vaccines. Articles were included if they provided original descriptions of applications of social media or digital health technologies/solutions in COVID-19 vaccination. Conference abstracts, editorials, letters, commentaries, correspondence articles, study protocols, and reviews were excluded. A modified version of the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS tool) was used to evaluate the quality of social media-related studies. The review was undertaken with the guidance of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. RESULTS A total of 178 articles were included in our review, including 114 social media articles and 64 digital technology articles. Social media has been applied for sentiment/emotion analysis, topic analysis, behavioral analysis, dissemination and engagement analysis, and information quality analysis around COVID-19 vaccination. Of these, sentiment analysis and topic analysis were the most common, with social media data being primarily analyzed by lexicon-based and machine learning techniques. The accuracy and reliability of information on social media can seriously affect public attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines, and misinformation often leads to vaccine hesitancy. Digital technologies have been applied to determine the COVID-19 vaccination strategy, predict the vaccination process, optimize vaccine distribution and delivery, provide safe and transparent vaccination certificates, and perform postvaccination surveillance. The applied digital technologies included algorithms, blockchain, mobile health, the Internet of Things, and other technologies, although with some barriers to their popularization. CONCLUSIONS The applications of social media and digital technologies in addressing COVID-19 vaccination-related issues represent an irreversible trend. Attention should be paid to the ethical issues and health inequities arising from the digital divide while applying and promoting these technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujie Zang
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xu Zhang
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuting Xing
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiaxian Chen
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Leesa Lin
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, SAR, China
| | - Zhiyuan Hou
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Global Health Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Zhao S, Hu S, Zhou X, Song S, Wang Q, Zheng H, Zhang Y, Hou Z. The Prevalence, Features, Influencing Factors, and Solutions for COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation: Systematic Review. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2023; 9:e40201. [PMID: 36469911 PMCID: PMC9838721 DOI: 10.2196/40201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 pandemic, infodemic spread even more rapidly than the pandemic itself. The COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been prevalent worldwide and hindered pandemic exiting strategies. Misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines is a vital contributor to vaccine hesitancy. However, no evidence systematically summarized COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. OBJECTIVE This review aims to synthesize the global evidence on misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines, including its prevalence, features, influencing factors, impacts, and solutions for combating misinformation. METHODS We performed a systematic review by searching 5 peer-reviewed databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO). We included original articles that investigated misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines and were published in English from January 1, 2020, to August 18, 2022. We excluded publications that did not cover or focus on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies, version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2), and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist were used to assess the study quality. The review was guided by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021288929). RESULTS Of the 8864 studies identified, 91 observational studies and 11 interventional studies met the inclusion criteria. Misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines covered conspiracy, concerns on vaccine safety and efficacy, no need for vaccines, morality, liberty, and humor. Conspiracy and safety concerns were the most prevalent misinformation. There was a great variation in misinformation prevalence, noted among 2.5%-55.4% in the general population and 6.0%-96.7% in the antivaccine/vaccine hesitant groups from survey-based studies, and in 0.1%-41.3% on general online data and 0.5%-56% on antivaccine/vaccine hesitant data from internet-based studies. Younger age, lower education and economic status, right-wing and conservative ideology, and having psychological problems enhanced beliefs in misinformation. The content, format, and source of misinformation influenced its spread. A 5-step framework was proposed to address vaccine-related misinformation, including identifying misinformation, regulating producers and distributors, cutting production and distribution, supporting target audiences, and disseminating trustworthy information. The debunking messages/videos were found to be effective in several experimental studies. CONCLUSIONS Our review provides comprehensive and up-to-date evidence on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and helps responses to vaccine infodemic in future pandemics. TRIAL REGISTRATION PROSPERO CRD42021288929; https://tinyurl.com/2prejtfa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihong Zhao
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Simeng Hu
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhou
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Suhang Song
- Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Qian Wang
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongqiu Zheng
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhiyuan Hou
- School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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13
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Miller CA, Schroeder MW, Guidry JP, Fuemmeler BF, Pagoto S. Older adults' exposure to and posting of health-related messages on Facebook by chronic health condition status. Digit Health 2023; 9:20552076231203799. [PMID: 37808240 PMCID: PMC10559694 DOI: 10.1177/20552076231203799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Older adults may be particularly interested in health-related content on Facebook, especially those who have chronic health conditions. The purpose of this study was to compare older adult Facebook users with and without a chronic health condition on their frequency of posting and exposure to health-related content. Methods Participants, recruited via Qualtrics, were regular Facebook users aged 50 + years. Participants were asked separately if they had seen, posted, and shared: Health-related information; about others'/their own health behaviors (e.g., exercise); and about others'/their own medical condition. Six logistic regression models, controlling for demographics and Facebook login frequency, were run to assess whether viewing and/or posting health-related messages differed by chronic health condition status. Results Respondents (N = 697; 77.9% female) were on average 61.2 (SD = 7.9) years old and (n = 625; 89.7%) were White. One-half reported a chronic health condition (n = 351; 50.4%). In adjusted models, those with a chronic health condition had a higher likelihood of seeing posts containing health information (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.93) and about others' medical conditions (OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.27) at least once a month compared to those with no chronic health conditions. People with and without chronic health conditions did not differ in terms of how often they see others' post about health behaviors. Those with a chronic health condition had a higher likelihood of posting or sharing health information (OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.27), posting about their own health behaviors (OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.44; p = 0.048), and about their health condition (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.27) at least once a month. Conclusion Most older adults on Facebook are exposed to and post multiple forms of health-related content. Therefore, Facebook may be an appropriate channel for conducting health-related communication targeting older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie A. Miller
- Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Matthew W. Schroeder
- Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jeanine P.D. Guidry
- Robertson School of Media and Culture, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bernard F. Fuemmeler
- Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Sherry Pagoto
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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14
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Jabbour D, Masri JE, Nawfal R, Malaeb D, Salameh P. Social media medical misinformation: impact on mental health and vaccination decision among university students. Ir J Med Sci 2023; 192:291-301. [PMID: 35119644 PMCID: PMC8814778 DOI: 10.1007/s11845-022-02936-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need of social media as a medium for gathering health-related information. Simultaneously, a slew of false information, primarily about COVID-19's origin, dissemination, prevention, treatment, and fatality surfaced, making it difficult to distinguish fake from genuine material. However, the possible effects on mental health and the extent to which this influences our decisions, particularly regarding vaccination, are unknown. AIM The purpose of this questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was to examine Lebanese University students' perceptions of social media influence during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to measure the impact of misinformation on respondents' mental health and vaccination decisions. METHODS In total, 440 students took part and were asked to complete an online survey that included questions on social media trust, the "general health questionnaire index" (GHQ-12), and a scale measuring "attitude towards vaccination". RESULTS Our data demonstrated a low frequency of mental health disorders among Lebanese University students, which was correlated to frequent social media exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggested that students are more aware of misinformation and had lower rates of despair and anxiety than the general population. Furthermore, Facebook use was associated with worse attitude and behaviour towards vaccination (p = 0.001), but a better mental health. Twitter had the inverse effect (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION It is a necessity to use social media correctly in health-related topics, to push governments and platforms towards making decisions about false and invalidated posts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Jabbour
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath Campus, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jad El Masri
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath Campus, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Rashad Nawfal
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath Campus, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Diana Malaeb
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Pascale Salameh
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon ,INSPECT-LB, Institut National de Santé Publique, Épidémiologie Clinique Et Toxicologie-Liban, Beirut, Lebanon ,Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus
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15
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Bauer IL. COVID-19: how can travel medicine benefit from tourism's focus on people during a pandemic? Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2022; 8:26. [PMID: 36451241 PMCID: PMC9713119 DOI: 10.1186/s40794-022-00182-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2020, COVID-19 affected every aspect of life around the globe. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 through travel led to lockdowns, travel bans and border closures, crippling the tourism industry. Without tourists, there would be no tourism industry-and no travel medicine. Therefore, scholars started to research the human aspect of tourism immediately to develop strategies for economic recovery. The resulting insights are useful for travel medicine not only to see how tourism dealt with a medical crisis but also to understand travellers better who may be seeking health advice during and after a pandemic.This article presents tourism research of 2020 covering risk perception and travel intentions including mass-gatherings, the use of technology to protect from infection, impacts on tourism workers, residents' reactions to potentially infected travellers, discrimination, and racism. A potential fork in the road to tourism's future may have implications for travel health practitioners. Research recommendations conclude the paper. Understanding the industry response during the early days of panic and uncertainty may help prepare not only appropriate guidelines for travellers but also clearer instructions for tourism, transportation, and hospitality in anticipation of the next pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irmgard L Bauer
- College of Healthcare Sciences, Academy - Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia.
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16
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Buzzell A, Rini R. Doing your own research and other impossible acts of epistemic superheroism. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2138019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Buzzell
- Department of Philosophy, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Regina Rini
- Department of Philosophy, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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17
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Schäfer M, Stark B, Werner AM, Mülder LM, Heller S, Reichel JL, Schwab L, Rigotti T, Beutel ME, Simon P, Letzel S, Dietz P. Determinants of university students' COVID-19 vaccination intentions and behavior. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18067. [PMID: 36302883 PMCID: PMC9610342 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23044-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccination hesitancy has been a major challenge for health authorities and societies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The general determinants of vaccination intentions and behavior include sociodemographic and health-related, psychological, and communication-related factors, with varying relevance for different types of vaccinations, countries, and target groups. The predictors of university students' COVID-19 vaccination behavior have not been sufficiently studied. Using a German university as an example and based on an online survey of 1398 university students, we investigated factors related to (a) the likelihood of vaccination against COVID-19 and (b) vaccination intention among those who had not been vaccinated by summer of 2021. Psychological factors showed high relevance. Field of study, trust in, and use of certain media and information channels were found to be important determinants of students' vaccination decision. Our findings can help better understand university students' vaccination behavior to develop and implement tailored strategies and campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Schäfer
- Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Birgit Stark
- Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Antonia M Werner
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lina M Mülder
- Department of Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Sebastian Heller
- Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jennifer L Reichel
- Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lisa Schwab
- Department of Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation and Disease Prevention, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Thomas Rigotti
- Department of Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Manfred E Beutel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Perikles Simon
- Department of Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation and Disease Prevention, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Stephan Letzel
- Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Pavel Dietz
- Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
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18
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Zhang W, Mukerjee S, Qin H. Topics and Sentiments Influence Likes: A Study of Facebook Public Pages' Posts About COVID-19 Vaccination. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 2022; 25:552-560. [PMID: 35969378 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2022.0063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we analyzed >200,000 posts collected from Facebook public pages that were published in December 2020 during the rollout of the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the American public. We ran both topic modeling and sentiment analysis of the posts and found that first Facebook posts talked about not only treatment effectiveness such as trial results and testing approaches but also other issues that surround vaccines such as approval and distribution. Second, although the general sentiment during this period was positive and anticipation was the highest emotion, Facebook posts expressed a salient amount of fear and sadness, especially when discussing emergency approval and trial results. Finally, we found that both topics and sentiments have a significant influence on user likes. Using the topic of vaccine distribution as a baseline, posts that discuss related aspects of vaccines (e.g., effectiveness, shipment, and testing), call for actions (e.g., use of masks) and indicate care to vulnerable groups (e.g., health care workers and seniors) received more likes. Posts with bad news (e.g., new cases and deaths) and doubts over the usefulness of vaccines received fewer likes. Regardless of their valences, approach emotions lead to more likes whereas withdrawal emotions lead to fewer likes. Our study suggests that to facilitate actions, using certain topics and approach emotions in the posts could be helpful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiyu Zhang
- Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Subhayan Mukerjee
- Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Huazhi Qin
- Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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19
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Fischbach L, Civen R, Boyd H, Flores DM, Cloud J, Smith LV, King J, Alvarez F, Kuo T. Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the Workplace: Results From a Rapid Survey at 2 Corporations in Los Angeles County, California, 2021. Public Health Rep 2022; 137:1207-1216. [PMID: 36004572 PMCID: PMC9548445 DOI: 10.1177/00333549221118086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Achieving widespread vaccine acceptance across various employment sectors is key to a successful public health response to COVID-19, but little is known about factors influencing vaccine acceptance among essential non–health care workers. We examined factors influencing vaccine acceptance among a sample of essential non–health care workers in California. Methods: We conducted a survey in early spring 2021 at 2 corporations in Los Angeles County, California, to identify and describe factors influencing vaccine acceptance and the ability of incentives to increase this acceptance. We used modified Poisson regression analysis to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios and a best-subset selection algorithm to identify the strongest factors influencing vaccine acceptance. Results: Of 678 workers who completed the survey, 450 were unvaccinated. Among unvaccinated participants, having trust in information about the vaccine from public health experts, having ≥1 chronic health condition related to COVID-19 severity, being Asian, and perceiving risk for COVID-19 were factors that most influenced vaccine acceptance. Most (271 of 296, 91.6%) participants who had trust in information from public health experts and 30.6% (30 of 98) of participants who did not have trust in information from public health experts said that they would accept the vaccine. Seventeen of 24 (70.8%) vaccine-hesitant workers who had trust in information from public health experts and 12 of 72 (16.7%) vaccine-hesitant workers who did not have trust in this information said that they would be more likely to accept the vaccine if an incentive were offered. Conclusions: Efforts to increase vaccine coverage at workplaces should focus on improving trust in the vaccine and increasing public awareness that the vaccine is free.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lori Fischbach
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Civen
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Community Field Services and Service Planning Area Regional Offices, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Homer Boyd
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David M Flores
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Cloud
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lisa V Smith
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jan King
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Community Field Services and Service Planning Area Regional Offices, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Frank Alvarez
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Community Field Services and Service Planning Area Regional Offices, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tony Kuo
- Outbreak Management Branch for COVID-19 Response, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Population Health Program, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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20
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Snyder J, Goldenberg M, Crooks VA, Katz R. Crowdfunding narratives and the valuation of vaccines for COVID-19. Vaccine 2022; 40:5295-5298. [PMID: 35933276 PMCID: PMC9345888 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Social media spreads information about vaccines and can be used to better understand public attitudes about them. Using American crowdfunding campaigns that mentioned COVID-19 vaccines from January 2020 to March 2021, this paper investigates public attitudes towards vaccines, specifically the perceived role vaccines could (or couldn’t) play in ending the pandemic. We identified 776 crowdfunding campaigns and coded each for their aims and whether they valued vaccines as returning their community to a pre-pandemic state (utopian), helping some but not all people (cautious), and doubtful about the likely positive impacts of vaccines (skeptical). Cautious and skeptical valuations increased over time whereas utopian views declined. This paper uniquely situates attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines in the context of financial need (as characterized by the campaigners). It offers insight into the “vaccine class gap” in America and demonstrates the usefulness of crowdfunding campaigns for assessing public views on vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Snyder
- Faculty of Health Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada.
| | - Maya Goldenberg
- Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph, Trent Lane, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Valorie A Crooks
- Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada.
| | - Rachel Katz
- Department of Philosophy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada.
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21
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Yin JDC. Media Data and Vaccine Hesitancy: Scoping Review. JMIR INFODEMIOLOGY 2022; 2:e37300. [PMID: 37113443 PMCID: PMC9987198 DOI: 10.2196/37300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Background Media studies are important for vaccine hesitancy research, as they analyze how the media shapes risk perceptions and vaccine uptake. Despite the growth in studies in this field owing to advances in computing and language processing and an expanding social media landscape, no study has consolidated the methodological approaches used to study vaccine hesitancy. Synthesizing this information can better structure and set a precedent for this growing subfield of digital epidemiology. Objective This review aimed to identify and illustrate the media platforms and methods used to study vaccine hesitancy and how they build or contribute to the study of the media's influence on vaccine hesitancy and public health. Methods This study followed the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. A search was conducted on PubMed and Scopus for any studies that used media data (social media or traditional media), had an outcome related to vaccine sentiment (opinion, uptake, hesitancy, acceptance, or stance), were written in English, and were published after 2010. Studies were screened by only 1 reviewer and extracted for media platform, analysis method, the theoretical models used, and outcomes. Results In total, 125 studies were included, of which 71 (56.8%) used traditional research methods and 54 (43.2%) used computational methods. Of the traditional methods, most used content analysis (43/71, 61%) and sentiment analysis (21/71, 30%) to analyze the texts. The most common platforms were newspapers, print media, and web-based news. The computational methods mostly used sentiment analysis (31/54, 57%), topic modeling (18/54, 33%), and network analysis (17/54, 31%). Fewer studies used projections (2/54, 4%) and feature extraction (1/54, 2%). The most common platforms were Twitter and Facebook. Theoretically, most studies were weak. The following five major categories of studies arose: antivaccination themes centered on the distrust of institutions, civil liberties, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and vaccine-specific concerns; provaccination themes centered on ensuring vaccine safety using scientific literature; framing being important and health professionals and personal stories having the largest impact on shaping vaccine opinion; the coverage of vaccination-related data mostly identifying negative vaccine content and revealing deeply fractured vaccine communities and echo chambers; and the public reacting to and focusing on certain signals-in particular cases, deaths, and scandals-which suggests a more volatile period for the spread of information. Conclusions The heterogeneity in the use of media to study vaccines can be better consolidated through theoretical grounding. Areas of suggested research include understanding how trust in institutions is associated with vaccine uptake, how misinformation and information signaling influence vaccine uptake, and the evaluation of government communications on vaccine rollouts and vaccine-related events. The review ends with a statement that media data analyses, though groundbreaking in approach, should supplement-not supplant-current practices in public health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Dean-Chen Yin
- School of Public Health Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China (Hong Kong)
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22
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Pourkarim M, Nayebzadeh S, Alavian SM, Hataminasab SH. Digital Marketing: A Unique Multidisciplinary Approach towards the Elimination of Viral Hepatitis. Pathogens 2022; 11:626. [PMID: 35745480 PMCID: PMC9228079 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11060626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
New technologies are supported by the global implementation of the internet. These improvements have deeply affected various disciplines of sciences and consequently changed services such as daily business, particularly health sectors. Innovative digital marketing strategies utilize the channels of social media and retrieved user data to analyze and improve relevant services. These multidisciplinary innovations can assist specialists, physicians and researchers in diagnostic, prophylaxis and treatment issues in the health sector. Accordingly, compared to recent decades, health decision makers are more accurate and trustful in defining new strategies. Interestingly, using social media and mobile health apps in current pandemics of SARS-CoV-2 could be an important instance of the key role of these platforms at the local and global level of health policies. These digital technologies provide platforms to connect public health sectors and health politicians for communicating and spreading relevant information. Adding influencers and campaigns to this toolbox strengthens the implementation of public health programs. In 2016, the WHO adopted a global program to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Recent constructive measures that have been used in the battle against COVID-19 could be adopted for the elimination of viral hepatitis program. The presented evidence in our narrative review demonstrates that the application of digital marketing tools to create campaigns on social media, armed with professional influencers, can efficiently consolidate this program. The application of different strategies in using these popular tools will raise the public awareness about viral hepatitis. Subsequently, the availability of an effective vaccine for HBV and antiviral medication for HCV can motivate the audience to take steps towards prophylaxis and screening methods against these infectious illnesses. The encouragement of health policy makers to apply digital communication technologies and comprehensive roadmaps to implement this global program will certainly decrease the burden of viral hepatitis worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammadreza Pourkarim
- Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd P.O. Box 89195/155, Iran; (M.P.); (S.H.H.)
| | - Shahnaz Nayebzadeh
- Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd P.O. Box 89195/155, Iran; (M.P.); (S.H.H.)
| | | | - Seyyed Hassan Hataminasab
- Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd P.O. Box 89195/155, Iran; (M.P.); (S.H.H.)
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23
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To offer: (1) Insight into the antivaccine movement's use of social media negatively impacting vaccine hesitancy and disease outbreaks, (2) Examples via case observations, and (3) Selected resources to combat vaccine hesitancy. RECENT FINDINGS For the past 25 years, daily social media usage has risen continually, allowing information to spread widely to a reading/listening/viewing audience via mostly unvetted social media sites. During a pandemic/epidemic (e.g., coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic), an overabundance of information from many sources, including social media, has led to what is now termed as an 'infodemic'. Infodemics arise from overwhelming amounts of both correct and incorrect information from experts and nonexperts alike. Differentiating correct from incorrect information is difficult for social media users who can be swayed by nonscientific 'influencers' or fear-mongering more than by vetted expert scientific information. Consequently, vaccine misinformation is steadily increasing via social media, the use of which is often believed to be associated with vaccine hesitancy. Stopping the spread of misinformation has been a difficult task. SUMMARY Vaccine misinformation on social media has been detrimental to public health. Vaccine advocates must increase the use of social media to the advantage of public health in the persistent struggle against vaccine hesitancy/refusal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon E Clark
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Mercy - Kansas City
| | | | - Christopher J Harrison
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Mercy - Kansas City
- The University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
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Caycho-Rodríguez T, Valencia PD, Vilca LW, Carbajal-León C, Vivanco-Vidal A, Saroli-Araníbar D, Reyes-Bossio M, White M, Rojas-Jara C, Polanco-Carrasco R, Gallegos M, Cervigni M, Martino P, Palacios DA, Moreta-Herrera R, Samaniego-Pinho A, Rivera MEL, Ferrari IF, Flores-Mendoza C, Figares AB, Puerta-Cortés DX, Corrales-Reyes IE, Calderón R, Tapia BP, Arias Gallegos WL, Intimayta-Escalante C. Prevalence and Predictors of Intention to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 in Thirteen Latin American and Caribbean Countries. TRENDS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC8937005 DOI: 10.1007/s43076-022-00170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The presence of a significant number of people who do not intend to be vaccinated could negatively impact efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study sought to determine the prevalence of intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and associated sociodemographic and psychosocial factors in thirteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). A total of 5510 people from 13 LAC countries participated. Frequencies, percentages, bivariate analyses using chi-square tests, and Poisson regression analysis with robust variance were used. The countries with the highest prevalence of intention to be vaccinated were Brazil (96.94%), Cuba (89.59%), Chile (84.59%), and Mexico (78.33%). On the other hand, the countries with the lowest prevalence were El Salvador (54.01%), Paraguay (55.87%), and Uruguay (56.40%). Prevalence is also reported according to some sociodemographic and health variables. It was found that country, male sex, hours exposed to information about COVID-19, university education, living in an urban area, belief in the animal origin of the virus, perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19, and concern about infecting others significantly predicted intention to be vaccinated in the 13 LAC countries. While most countries had a high prevalence of intention to be vaccinated, there are still subgroups that have levels of intention that may be insufficient to predict the presence of community immunity. In this sense, knowing the estimates of vaccination intention rates, as well as the associated sociodemographic and psychological factors, can be used to plan actions and interventions that will inform about the safety and benefits of vaccines, as well as strengthen trust in health authorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Privada del Norte, Av. Alfredo Mendiola 6062, Los Olivos, Lima, Peru
| | - Pablo D. Valencia
- Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlanepantla de Baz, State of Mexico Mexico
| | - Lindsey W. Vilca
- South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima, Peru
| | - Carlos Carbajal-León
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Privada del Norte, Av. Alfredo Mendiola 6062, Los Olivos, Lima, Peru
| | | | | | - Mario Reyes-Bossio
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru
| | - Michel White
- Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Educación, Universidad Peruana Unión, Lima, Peru
| | - Claudio Rojas-Jara
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | | | - Miguel Gallegos
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
- Pontificia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mauricio Cervigni
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud y del Comportamiento, Universidad Adventista del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rosario, Argentina
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias de Rosario, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Pablo Martino
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias de Rosario, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | | | | | - Antonio Samaniego-Pinho
- Carrera de Psicología, Facultad de Filosofía, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Asuncion, Paraguay
| | - Marlon Elías Lobos Rivera
- Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador
| | | | | | | | | | - Ibraín Enrique Corrales-Reyes
- Servicio de Cirugía Maxilofacial, Hospital General Universitario Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Granma, Bayamo, Granma Cuba
| | - Raymundo Calderón
- Carrera de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad del Valle de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Bismarck Pinto Tapia
- Carrera de Psicología, Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo, La Paz, Bolivia
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25
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Goldin S, Hood N, Pascutto A, Bennett C, Barbosa de Lima AC, Devereaux N, Caric A, Rai K, Desai S, Lindstrand A, Struminger B. Building global capacity for COVID-19 vaccination through interactive virtual learning. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH 2022; 20:16. [PMID: 35120542 PMCID: PMC8815394 DOI: 10.1186/s12960-022-00710-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To support the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization and its partners developed an interactive virtual learning initiative through which vaccination stakeholders could receive the latest guidance, ask questions, and share their experiences. This initiative, implemented between 9 February 2021 and 15 June 2021, included virtual engagement between technical experts and participants during a 15-session interactive webinar series as well as web and text-messaging discussions in English and French. METHODS This article uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze survey data collected following each webinar and a post-series survey conducted after the series had concluded. Participant data were tracked for each session, and feedback surveys were conducted after each session to gauge experience quality and content usability. Chi-square tests were used to compare results across professions (health workers, public health practitioners, and others). RESULTS The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity webinar series reached participants in 179 countries or 93% of the WHO Member States; 75% of participants were from low- and middle-income countries. More than 60% of participants reported using the resources provided during the sessions, and 47% reported sharing these resources with colleagues. More than 79% of participants stated that this initiative significantly improved their confidence in preparing for and rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations; an additional 20% stated that the initiative "somewhat" improved their confidence. In the post-series survey, 70% of participants reported that they will "definitely use" the knowledge derived from this learning series in their work; an additional 20% will "probably use" and 9% would "possibly use" this knowledge in their work. CONCLUSION The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity learning initiative used a digital model of dynamic, interactive learning at scale. The initiative enhanced WHO's ability to disseminate knowledge, provide normative guidance, and share best practices to COVID-19 vaccination stakeholders in real time. This approach allowed WHO to hear the information needs of stakeholders and respond by developing guidance, tools, and training to support COVID-19 vaccine introduction. WHO and its partners can learn from this capacity-building experience and apply best practices for digital interactive learning to other health programs moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nancy Hood
- Project ECHO, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | | | - Celine Bennett
- Project ECHO, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | | | | | | | - Karan Rai
- Project ECHO, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
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Leal ML. Nexus of eidos: one world against COVID-19. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021; 44:e629. [PMID: 34427307 PMCID: PMC8499760 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
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27
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Cardenas NC. 'Europe and United States vaccine hesitancy': leveraging strategic policy for 'Infodemic' on COVID-19 vaccines. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021; 44:e315-e316. [PMID: 34137434 PMCID: PMC8344824 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Nicky C Cardenas
- Department of Teacher Education, Cavite State University, Bacoor 4102, Philippines
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28
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Maravilla MI. COVID-19 Survivors Philippines: towards the promotion of public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021; 43:e565-e566. [PMID: 34109389 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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