Toward Multidimensional Message Tailoring to Address COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccine-Hesitancy: A Latent Profile...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Vaccines are crucial for managing the COVID-19 pandemic as control measures are relaxed.
• Vaccine hesitancy remains a significant barrier to achieving widespread immunization and ending the pandemic.
• Effective communication strategies are needed to address vaccine hesitancy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore differences between vaccine-confident and vaccine-hesitant individuals regarding COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
• To segment audiences based on their vaccine attitudes using latent profile analysis.
• To inform the development of targeted message strategies for different audience segments.

Main Methods:

• A US national survey was conducted within the integrated behavioral model framework.
• Latent profile analysis was employed for audience segmentation.
• Measurement invariance was established between COVID-19 and influenza vaccine attitudes.

Main Results:

• Distinct subgroups of individuals were identified based on their vaccine confidence levels.
• Significant differences were observed in various dimensions between confident and hesitant individuals concerning both COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
• The study established measurement invariance, allowing for direct comparisons across vaccine types.

Conclusions:

• Audience segmentation is a valuable approach for understanding and addressing vaccine hesitancy.
• Tailored messaging strategies, informed by latent profile analysis, can potentially improve vaccine uptake for both COVID-19 and influenza.
• Future research should test the efficacy of these proposed message strategies in real-world settings.