A Rapid Systematic Review of Public Responses to Health Messages Encouraging Vaccination against Infectious Diseases in a Pandemic or Epidemic

Sadie Lawes-Wickwar¹, Daniela Ghio², Mei Yee Tang³, Chris Keyworth⁴, Sabina Stanescu⁵, Juliette Westbrook⁶, Elizabeth Jenkinson⁷, Angelos P Kassianos⁸, Daniel Scanlan⁹, Natalie Garnett⁷, Lynn Laidlaw¹⁰, Neil Howlett¹¹, Natalie Carr¹², Natalia Stanulewicz¹³, Ella Guest⁷, Daniella Watson¹⁴, Lisa Sutherland¹⁵, Lucie Byrne-Davis^{4

16}, Angel Chater¹⁷, Jo Hart^{4

16}, Christopher J Armitage^{4

18

19}, Gillian W Shorter²⁰, Vivien Swanson²¹, Tracy Epton⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester M6 6PU, UK.
³ Behavioural Science Policy Research Unit, Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK.
⁴ Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
⁵ School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
⁷ Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of West England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK.
⁸ Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
⁹ Department of Communication, Policy, and Research, Education Support, London N5 1EW, UK.
¹⁰ Public Contributor, Health Psychology Exchange Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Group, UK.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, Sports, and Geography, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, UK.
¹² Faculty of Health, Psychology, and Social Care, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK.
¹³ Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK.
¹⁴ Global Health Research Institute, Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
¹⁵ Behavioural Insight, Edinburgh EH9 3EY, UK.
¹⁶ Division of Medical Education, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
¹⁷ Centre for Health, Wellbeing and Behaviour Change, University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK41 9EA, UK.
¹⁸ NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester M13 9WL, UK.
¹⁹ Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester M13 9NQ, UK.
²⁰ Centre for Improving Health Related Quality of Life, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
²¹ Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.

PMID: 33498395
PMCID: PMC7909419
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9020072

Review

A Rapid Systematic Review of Public Responses to Health Messages Encouraging Vaccination against Infectious Diseases in a Pandemic or Epidemic

Sadie Lawes-Wickwar et al. Vaccines (Basel). 2021.

. 2021 Jan 20;9(2):72.

doi: 10.3390/vaccines9020072.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester M6 6PU, UK.
³ Behavioural Science Policy Research Unit, Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK.
⁴ Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
⁵ School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
⁷ Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of West England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK.
⁸ Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
⁹ Department of Communication, Policy, and Research, Education Support, London N5 1EW, UK.
¹⁰ Public Contributor, Health Psychology Exchange Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Group, UK.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, Sports, and Geography, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, UK.
¹² Faculty of Health, Psychology, and Social Care, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK.
¹³ Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK.
¹⁴ Global Health Research Institute, Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
¹⁵ Behavioural Insight, Edinburgh EH9 3EY, UK.
¹⁶ Division of Medical Education, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
¹⁷ Centre for Health, Wellbeing and Behaviour Change, University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK41 9EA, UK.
¹⁸ NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester M13 9WL, UK.
¹⁹ Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester M13 9NQ, UK.
²⁰ Centre for Improving Health Related Quality of Life, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
²¹ Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.

PMID: 33498395
PMCID: PMC7909419
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9020072

Abstract

Public health teams need to understand how the public responds to vaccination messages in a pandemic or epidemic to inform successful campaigns encouraging the uptake of new vaccines as they become available. A rapid systematic review was performed by searching PsycINFO, MEDLINE, healthevidence.org, OSF Preprints and PsyArXiv Preprints in May 2020 for studies including at least one health message promoting vaccine uptake of airborne-, droplet- and fomite-spread viruses. Included studies were assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) or the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR), and for patient and public involvement (PPI) in the research. Thirty-five articles were included. Most reported messages for seasonal influenza (n = 11; 31%) or H1N1 (n = 11; 31%). Evidence from moderate to high quality studies for improving vaccine uptake included providing information about virus risks and vaccination safety, as well as addressing vaccine misunderstandings, offering vaccination reminders, including vaccination clinic details, and delivering mixed media campaigns across hospitals or communities. Behavioural influences (beliefs and intentions) were improved when: shorter, risk-reducing or relative risk framing messages were used; the benefits of vaccination to society were emphasised; and beliefs about capability and concerns among target populations (e.g., vaccine safety) were addressed. Clear, credible, messages in a language target groups can understand were associated with higher acceptability. Two studies (6%) described PPI in the research process. Future campaigns should consider the beliefs and information needs of target populations in their design, including ensuring that vaccine eligibility and availability is clear, and messages are accessible. More high quality research is needed to demonstrate the effects of messaging interventions on actual vaccine uptake.

Keywords: epidemics; pandemics; public health messaging; systematic review; vaccine hesitancy; vaccine uptake.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

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References

1. Oxford University . Oxford University Breakthrough on Global COVID-19 Vaccine. Oxford UniversityPress; Oxford, UK: 2020.
1. Food & Drug Administration . FDA Takes Additional Action in Fight Against COVID-19 by Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for Second COVID-19 Vaccine. FDA; Montgomery, MD, USA: 2020.
1. Food & Drug Administration . FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine. FDA; Montgomery, MD, USA: 2020.
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A Rapid Systematic Review of Public Responses to Health Messages Encouraging Vaccination against Infectious Diseases in a Pandemic or Epidemic

Affiliations

A Rapid Systematic Review of Public Responses to Health Messages Encouraging Vaccination against Infectious Diseases in a Pandemic or Epidemic

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources