Ideology and COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: Perceptual Mediators and Communication Moderators

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Political Science

Background:

• COVID-19 vaccination is crucial for disease control.
• Political ideology influences health behaviors and vaccine acceptance.
• The Health Belief Model (HBM) provides a framework for understanding health decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between political ideology and COVID-19 vaccine intention.
• To examine the mediating roles of perceived vaccine effectiveness, side effects, and illness severity.
• To explore the moderating effect of partisan information flow on these associations.

Main Methods:

• Survey data from 1849 participants in two 2020 election battleground states.
• Regression, mediation, and moderation analyses were employed.
• Key variables included political ideology, HBM components, and information sources.

Main Results:

• Conservatives reported lower COVID-19 vaccine intention, mediated by perceived effectiveness, side effects, and illness severity.
• Partisan news sources and discussion partners moderated the relationship between ideology and perceived vaccine effectiveness.
• Exposure to liberal news and discussions with fellow conservatives decreased perceived vaccine effectiveness among conservatives.

Conclusions:

• Political ideology significantly shapes COVID-19 vaccine intentions through HBM constructs.
• Partisan information environments can either reinforce or challenge existing beliefs about vaccines.
• Tailored communication strategies are needed to address ideological disparities in vaccine uptake.