COVID-19
Conditions
Keywords
vaccine hesitancy, social media, health behavior
Brief summary
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, a sizable proportion of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated and at high risk of death and serious illness from COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy, fueled by the proliferation of vaccine misinformation on social media, is one factor contributing to lack of vaccination. Current attempts to overcome vaccine misinformation focus on correcting or debunking falsehoods. Although debunking strategies are important components to any public health campaign, communications must also address rationales for vaccine hesitancy that vary among individuals and communities, and directly address the gist of their concerns in an empathetic, non-judgmental manner. We will conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of empathic, relationship-building interactions relative to standard provision of information on social media to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGist messages on COVID-19 vaccination
Participants will receive gist-based messages on COVID-19 vaccines and have their concerns addressed by a group moderator
BEHAVIORALCOVID-19 vaccine information
Participants will receive a link to the Facebook COVID-19 Information Center via a private Facebook Group
Sponsors
George Washington University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* reside in the U.S. * unvaccinated from COVID-19 * Use Facebook regularly (at least 1/day)
Exclusion criteria
* age \<18 years * do not reside in the U.S. * vaccinated from COVID-19 * do not use Facebook regularly (at least 1/day)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement and satisfaction with the program | 4 weeks | Engagement includes participation in the Facebook group; satisfaction=self-rated overall satisfaction with the program (7-point scale) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in general vaccine confidence | 4 weeks | Self-reported confidence in vaccines (7-point scale) |
| Change in vaccine hesitancy | 4 weeks | Self-reported vaccine hesitancy (7-point scale |
| Change in COVID-19 vaccine confidence | 4 weeks | Self-reported confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine (5-point scale) |
| Change in COVID-19 vaccination intention | 4 weeks | Self-reported intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine (7-point scale) |
| Change in intention to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine | 4 weeks | Self-reported intention to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine (7-point scale) |
| Proportion of participants getting the COVID-19 vaccine | 4 weeks | self-reported vaccination status |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed