Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
Understanding why low-risk patients accept vaccines: a socio-behavioral approach
Timothy L Wiemken1,2, Ruth M Carrico3, Robert R Kelley4
1Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA. tlwiem01@louisville.edu.
Background:
Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions. Understanding factors associated with vaccine acceptance is critical. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of the three constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) on the intention to be vaccinated among healthy individuals being seen for pre-travel care, and to evaluate if behavioral intention was associated with vaccine acceptance.
Methods:
We surveyed individuals seeking vaccination at the University of Louisville Vaccine and International Health and Travel Clinic. Linear and two stage least squares regression models were used to define the associations between constructs of the TPB and the intention to be vaccinated, as well as the association between the intention to be vaccinated and vaccine acceptance.
Results:
A total of 183 individuals were included in the analysis. None of the constructs of the TPB were associated with intention to be vaccinated. Behavioral intention was not associated with vaccination acceptance.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that the TPB does not predict the intention to get vaccinated among individuals attending our Vaccine and International Health and Travel Clinic. It will be critical to define better predictors of vaccine uptake in healthy, low-risk individuals to increase vaccine acceptance.
Related Concept Videos
00:52Social Proof
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
01:08Obedience
01:51Vaccinations
01:14Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
01:20Conformity