Vaccine Hesitancy towards COVID-19 Vaccination: Investigating the Role of Information Sources through a Mediation Analysis (original) (raw)
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The Impact of Social Media on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Acceptance: Data Analytic Approach
Proceedings of the ALISE Annual Conference
There is still a great deal of vaccination hesitancy among different populations in the U.S. including health workers, government officials, minorities and marginalized communities. The politicization of the COVID-19 issue made it difficult to contain the infection and led to an increase in the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories on the internet and social media. Misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccine hindered efforts to fight the disease and continue to impact measures to contain the pandemic. In this paper, we examine the factors impacting vaccine hesitancy and acceptance in the United States. Data collected from CDC website and Twitter hashtags, #COVIDvaccines was analyzed, and the results have shown that vaccine hesitancy is largely influenced by personal opinion rather than scientific knowledge. Safety and side effect was the major impacting factor followed by misinformation and conspiracy theories. ALISE RESEARCH TAXONOMY TOPICS big data; data vis...
Infodemic on Social Media and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
Journal of Medical Globalization, 2022
This study aims to understand the current COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy context and measures to overcome it. Assessing the challenge faced by campaigns against the vaccination on social media is vital, considering the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, though there has been substantial advancement in vaccines over the last century, the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable infections has prompted the World Health Organization to recognize vaccine hesitancy as a significant challenge to public health. The strategies among the general public for the hesitancy to use any vaccines for the initial period might well be fueled by health information gathered from a range of outlets, especially social media. This is a significant public health issue and may compromise people into not using the vaccines. Therefore, there is a strong need for social media to control that false plethora of information and promote the message from internationally recognized and trusted organizations and the government bodies of respective countries. This study explores infodemic in social media and its impact on utilizing the COVID-19 vaccine. This review results can benefit further public health interventions related to vaccine utilization.
Social Media and Health Communication: Vaccine Refusal/Hesitancy
Handbook of Research on Representing Health and Medicine in Modern Media
The content presented in the media, especially with the element of fear, appears to be the most important factor in the formation and spreading of phobias related to diseases. Especially when it comes to epidemics, the influence of the media increases remarkably. Individuals now use digital media as the initial reference source, especially on issues related to their health, and tend to see social media as a reference platform. However, uncontrolled information, conspiracy theories, and information pollution spread through social media make the subject difficult to understand; online shared manipulative news, excessive and unfounded information cause fear and panic. These posts about vaccines affect the perception and attitude towards vaccines. In this study, the comments and social media posts will be analysed using content analysis and discourse analysis methods in order to reveal the effect of social media in vaccine rejection and hesitation.
Studies in Media and Communication , 2022
There have been sustained global efforts to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, yet studies suggest the upsurge of vaccine resistance around the world. Considering the wide adoption of social media as crucial sources of health information, the nature of popular online debates on vaccination initiatives can significantly sway people's vaccine-related decisions. This study develops a structural equation model for the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Nigerian social media users. Using an online survey of 436 respondents, the study fundamentally extends the constructs of the Health Belief Model by examining the unique roles of social media exposure, fear, and anticipated regret in the prediction of individuals' vaccination decisions. We found that perceived susceptibility to and perceived severity of vaccination risk, perceived barriers to vaccination, exposure to vaccine-critical posts on social media, fear of vaccination risk, and anticipated regret for vaccine uptake significantly predicted COVID-19 vaccine uptake. However, the perceived benefits of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and anticipated regret for inaction related to vaccination did not predict COVID-19 vaccine-related decisions. The findings accentuate why stakeholders in the public health sector should pay adequate attention to social media-related trends on public health promotion schemes, and counter any detected falsehood with credible information.
Social media and attitudes towards a COVID-19 vaccination: A systematic review of the literature
eClinicalMedicine
Background Vaccine hesitancy continues to limit global efforts in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging research demonstrates the role of social media in disseminating information and potentially influencing people's attitudes towards public health campaigns. This systematic review sought to synthesize the current evidence regarding the potential role of social media in shaping COVID-19 vaccination attitudes, and to explore its potential for shaping public health interventions to address the issue of vaccine hesitancy. Methods We performed a systematic review of the studies published from inception to 13 of March2022 by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsychNET, Scopus, CINAHL, and MEDLINE. Studies that reported outcomes related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine (attitudes, opinion, etc.) gathered from the social media platforms, and those analyzing the relationship between social media use and COVID-19 hesitancy/acceptance were included. Studies that reported no outcome of interest or analyzed data from sources other than social media (websites, newspapers, etc.) will be excluded. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of all cross-sectional studies included in this review. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021283219). Findings Of the 2539 records identified, a total of 156 articles fully met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the quality of the cross-sectional studies was moderate − 2 studies received 10 stars, 5 studies received 9 stars, 9 studies were evaluated with 8, 12 studies with 7,16 studies with 6, 11 studies with 5, and 6 studies with 4 stars. The included studies were categorized into four categories. Cross-sectional studies reporting the association between reliance on social media and vaccine intentions mainly observed a negative relationship. Studies that performed thematic analyses of extracted social media data, mainly observed a domination of vaccine hesitant topics. Studies that explored the degree of polarization of specific social media contents related to COVID-19 vaccines observed a similar degree of content for both positive and negative tone posted on different social media platforms. Finally, studies that explored the fluctuations of vaccination attitudes/opinions gathered from social media identified specific events as significant cofactors that affect and shape vaccination intentions of individuals. Interpretation This thorough examination of the various roles social media can play in disseminating information to the public, as well as how individuals behave on social media in the context of public health events, articulates the potential of social media as a platform of public health intervention to address vaccine hesitancy.
2022
Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction and the social identity of deindividuation effects model, this study used an online experiment (N = 322) to test a moderated-mediation model that linked exposure to user comments posted to COVID-19 vaccine news stories and vaccine intentions. The study was conducted in Vietnam when the Delta variant of COVID-19 spread to the country and the efficacy and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine were controversial in the news. Results showed that, compared with vaccine-hesitancy comments, vaccine-acceptance comments significantly increased vaccine intentions through injunctive norms, response efficacy, and attitudes. This indirect association was only significant among participants who perceived commenters as ingroup members. Compared with vaccine-hesitancy comments, a mixture of comments that featured both acceptance and hesitancy significantly increased perceived norms, perceived efficacy, and attitudes. Further, comments significantly changed participants' perceived norms, perceived efficacy, and attitudes compared with the news stories. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 2024
This study analyzed 1432 questions asked in 19 surveys (N = 43,014) on COVID-19 vaccines between January 2020 and August 2022 using dimensions including (1) information sources about COVID-19 vaccine, (2) information about the access, effectiveness, and side effects of COVID-19 vaccine, (3) COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (i.e. false perception, skepticism, and vaccine refusal), (4) motivations to get the COVID-19 vaccine (i.e. to perform routine activities, convenience, incentives, influences, and travel requirement), (5) false perceptions caused vaccine refusal, and (6) intentions to get vaccinated. Our results show that vaccine refusal was rampant throughout the pandemic and mostly attributed to the rush in the vaccine development process and perceived safety risks. Additionally, our analysis indicates that people's motivation to get vaccinated came from varied sources such as doctors, family members, and politicians. Lastly, mandating vaccines during the pandemic did not significantly increase uptake among individuals who were initially skeptical, and concerns about the rapid development of the vaccine were a major cause of vaccine hesitancy. Findings were discussed and interpreted using the information deficit model, the two-step flow theory, and the reactance theory. This research provides valuable insights and practical implications, along with significant theoretical contributions and policy recommendations.
Vaccines, 2022
Vaccination is the most effective way to control the COVID-19 pandemic, but vaccination hesitancy threatens this effort worldwide. Consequently, there is a need to understand what influences individuals’ intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Restriction of information gathering on societal developments to social media may influence attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination through exposure to disinformation and imbalanced arguments. The present study examined the association between problematic social media use and intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine, taking into account the mediating roles of cyberchondria, fear of COVID-19, and COVID-19 risk perception. In a cross-sectional survey study, a total of 10,843 residents of Qazvin City, Iran completed measures on problematic social media use, fear of COVID-19, cyberchondria, COVID-19 risk perception, and intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that there was ...
Hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines on social media in Canada
Vaccine, 2022
To effectively end the pandemic, the acceptance of effective vaccines against COVID-19 is critical. Comments posted in online platforms act as a barometer for understanding public concerns regarding vaccination and can be used to inform communication strategies for the 'moveable middle'. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify online dialogue regarding the nature of vaccine hesitancy related to COVID-19 vaccine(s). We analyzed user comment threads in response to news reports regarding COVID-19 vaccines on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation national news website (with as many as 9.4 million unique visitors per day). User comments (n = 1145) were extracted from 19 articles between March 2020 and June 15th, 2020. Comments were then coded inductively for content to establish a coding framework that was subsequently applied to the dataset. Our data provide empirical support for misrepresentation as a form of misinformation and further demonstrate the utility of social media content as data for social research that informs public health communication materials. The data point to the need for, and value of, rapid communication interventions to foster vaccine acceptance. False information will continue to create challenges for delivering COVID-19 vaccines. Communication strategies to get ahead of the pace of misinformation are critical, particularly in light of boosters and the possibility of COVID-19 vaccination on an annual basis.
JMIR Research Protocols, 2022
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an explosion in the amount of information shared on the internet, including false and misleading information on SARS-CoV-2 and recommended protective behaviors. Prior to the pandemic, web-based misinformation and disinformation were already identified as having an impact on people's decision to refuse or delay recommended vaccination for themselves or their children. Objective: The overall aims of our study are to better understand the influence of web-based misinformation and disinformation on COVID-19 vaccine decisions and investigate potential solutions to reduce the impact of web-based misinformation and disinformation about vaccines. Methods: Based on different research approaches, the study will involve (1) the use of artificial intelligence techniques, (2) a web-based survey, (3) interviews, and (4) a scoping review and an environmental scan of the literature. Results: As of September 1, 2022, data collection has been completed for all objectives. The analysis is being conducted, and results should be disseminated in the upcoming months. Conclusions: The findings from this study will help with understanding the underlying determinants of vaccine hesitancy among Canadian individuals and identifying effective, tailored interventions to improve vaccine acceptance among them.