Web-based Social Media Intervention to Increase Vaccine Acceptance: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Vaccine hesitancy necessitates interventions to improve vaccine acceptance.
• Early childhood immunization is crucial for public health.
• Digital platforms offer novel approaches to health promotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based intervention with social media components (VSM) in increasing early childhood immunization.
• To compare VSM intervention with a Web-based information-only (VI) intervention and usual care (UC).

Main Methods:

• A 3-arm randomized controlled trial involving pregnant women in Colorado (September 2013 - July 2016).
• Participants were randomized to VSM, VI, or UC groups.
• Infant vaccination status was assessed up to 200 days of age, with days undervaccinated as the primary outcome.

Main Results:

• Infants in the VSM arm had significantly fewer undervaccinated days compared to the UC arm (P = .02).
• The proportion of infants up-to-date on vaccinations by 200 days was higher in the VSM arm (92.5%) compared to UC (86.6%).
• Infants in the VSM arm were more likely to be up-to-date (OR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.07-3.47) than those in the UC arm.

Conclusions:

• Web-based vaccine information combined with social media applications during pregnancy positively influences parental vaccine behaviors.
• This digital intervention shows promise for improving childhood immunization rates.
• Targeted digital health strategies can be effective in addressing vaccine hesitancy.