Childhood Vaccinations
Conditions
Keywords
Vaccines
Brief summary
This study is the first phase of a trial examining decision making about vaccines. This phase tests the impact of targeted vaccine-focused health messages on vaccine beliefs held by parents of young children and pre-adolescents. The participant's vaccine beliefs will be assessed at baseline. Two weeks later, the participant's moral matrix will be assessed. A vaccine-related message that appeals to the individual's three most or least emphasized moral foundations will then be presented. Immediately afterwards, vaccine beliefs will be assessed to determine the impact of the message.
Detailed description
Vaccination of young children helps protect this population against a variety of diseases. Children are especially at risk for contraction of and complications from diseases due to their vulnerable immune systems. New evidence-based messages are needed to maintain and increase vaccination uptake among this group. An emphasis on different values is related to decisions parents make about vaccines. The purpose of this study is to develop, implement, and evaluate messages that focus on different aspects of values to impact vaccination attitudes among parents of young children. Parents emphasize different moral foundations when deciding whether or not to vaccinate children. Based on this research, a messaging intervention with parents of children who are 12 years of age or younger will be conducted. These messages will aid in assessment of how different moral foundations impact attitudes towards vaccination and intent to vaccinate. This study tests the impact of targeted vaccine-focused health messages on vaccine beliefs held by parents of young children and pre-adolescents. The participant's vaccine beliefs will be assessed at baseline. Two weeks later, the participant's moral matrix will be assessed. A vaccine-related message that appeals to the individual's three most or least emphasized moral foundations will then be presented. Immediately afterwards, vaccine beliefs will be assessed to determine the impact of the message.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBaseline Survey
The baseline survey contains questions regarding level of existing vaccine hesitancy (Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) short scale and HealthStyles questions), demographic information, and intent to vaccinate their children. All study surveys will be completed on an electronic device.
BEHAVIORALPre-intervention Survey
Participants will be contacted two weeks after completing the baseline survey to answer questions about their moral beliefs. The survey will include questions form the Moral Foundations Questionnaire as well as additional questions. An algorithm will calculate the participant's moral matrix based on answers to these questions.
BEHAVIORALMorally Congruent Message
Intervention messages consist of four short paragraphs. The first three focus on how getting vaccinated helps uphold specific moral foundations. The fourth summarizes the contents of the prior paragraphs. Participants randomized to the morally congruent arm will receive a vaccine-related message developed to appeal to their three most-emphasized moral foundations. The first paragraph focuses on the most emphasized foundation, the second on the third-most emphasized, and the third on the second-most emphasized.
BEHAVIORALMorally Non-Congruent Message
Intervention messages consist of four short paragraphs. The first three focus on how getting vaccinated helps uphold specific moral foundations. Participants randomized to the morally non-congruent arm will receive a vaccine-related message developed to appeal to their three least-emphasized moral foundations. The first paragraph focuses on the least emphasized foundation, the second on the third-least emphasized, and the third on the second-least emphasized.
BEHAVIORALControl Message
Participants randomized to the control arm will be provided with a short passage about the costs and benefits of bird feeding.
BEHAVIORALPost-Intervention Survey
Immediately after reading the randomly assigned message participants will complete a follow-up survey assessing level of existing vaccine hesitancy (PACV short scale and HealthStyles questions) and intent to vaccinate their children.
Sponsors
Emory University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Have at least one child ≤ 12 years of age * Reside in the United States
Exclusion criteria
* Have previously participated in this study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Overall change in attitude towards vaccines | Week 2 | Number of caregivers experiencing a change in attitude towards vaccines. |
| Intent to have their children vaccinated | Week 2 | Number of caregivers opting to have their children vaccinated. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed