Safety Messaging Boosts Parental Vaccination Intention for Children Ages 5-11.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 vaccination rate among children ages 5-11 is low in the U.S., with parental vaccine hesitancy being the primary cause. Current work suggests that safety and side effect concerns are the primary reasons for such vaccine hesitancy. This study explores whether this hesitancy can be mitigated with information interventions. Based on theories of health decision making and persuasion, we designed four information interventions with varying contents and lengths. We wrote two messages on vaccine safety (a detailed safety-long message and a succinct safety-short message), explaining the vaccine's lower dosage, low rate of side effects, and the rigorous approval process. We also had two messages on protection effects (protect-family, protect-child). We combined these four messages with

SUBMITTER: Cui Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9413281 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature