Targeting Vaccine-Wary Subgroups to Improve Compliance.
Public health officials should use strategies targeted to particular “vaccine-hesitant” subgroups in order to improve vaccine compliance, according to a new study co-authored by a School of Public Health researcher.
In an article in the journal Vaccines, a team of researchers including Ziming Xuan, assistant professor of community health sciences, found that the use of “audience segmentation techniques” to identify subgroups of vaccine-hesitant individuals could help engage citizens in public health efforts to improve vaccination rates. The study was led by researchers from the Center for Community-Based Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The team looked at more than 1,100 people, drawn from a nationally representative sample of American adults, who did not receive the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine. Among that group, a cluster analysis identified three subgroups: “disengaged skeptics” (67 percent), who were furthest from vaccine acceptance, with low levels of concern and engagement; the “informed unconvinced” (19 percent), who were sophisticated consumers of media and health information who may not have been reached with information to motivate vaccination; and the “open to persuasion” cluster (14 percent), who had the highest levels of concern and motivation and may have been reached by engagement about vaccination.
“The ‘Open to Persuasion’ cluster seemed to be the furthest along the continuum towards vaccine acceptance for H1N1. There may have been an important opportunity to address the needs of this group and increase vaccination rates,” the authors wrote. “By providing details about the group’s current beliefs, behaviors, and communication profiles, the analysis is a useful starting point for targeted engagement.”
The authors said further research could help to identify additional vaccine-wary subgroups.
“Understanding the heterogeneity of groups along the vaccine hesitancy continuum presents an opportunity to tailor and increase the impact of public engagement efforts with these groups,” they wrote. “By better understanding the spectrum of vaccine-hesitancy, we can begin to put into place the necessary supports to inform and support health-promotive decision-making among the public.”
The research was supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.