Using behavior change techniques to identify components for adapting a vaccination in pregnancy communication...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Vaccine communication is crucial for improving vaccination rates in pregnancy and childhood.
• Current communication strategies between healthcare providers and patients regarding pregnancy vaccination are suboptimal.
• The Australian Sharing Knowledge About Immunization (SKAI) intervention aims to enhance vaccine communication but its effectiveness in Canada is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate which components of the SKAI intervention address vaccine communication barriers identified by Canadian healthcare providers and parents.
• To identify additional intervention components needed to improve vaccine communication during pregnancy in the Canadian context.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Behavior Change Wheel and Theory and Techniques Tool for analysis.
• Identified behavior change techniques (BCTs) within the SKAI intervention.
• Mapped BCTs to barriers and enablers of pregnancy vaccination communication using the Theoretical Domains Framework in Canada.
• Developed a shortlist of BCTs to address barriers specific to the Canadian context not covered by SKAI.

Main Results:

• SKAI materials contained 22/93 BCTs for providers and 8/93 BCTs for patients.
• Most BCTs focused on providing information, targeting Knowledge and Environmental Context and Resources domains.
• Fewer BCTs addressed Intention and Behavior Regulation domains.
• A shortlist of 26 BCTs was developed for the Canadian intervention, targeting domains like Skills, Belief About Capabilities, Behavior Regulation, Reinforcement, Social Influences, and Emotions.

Conclusions:

• A Canadian intervention for improving pregnancy vaccine communication must extend beyond information provision.
• Intervention components should target Skills, Belief About Capabilities, and Behavior Regulation for providers.
• For parents, interventions should focus on Reinforcement, Social Influences, and Emotions.
• Addressing context-specific barriers in Canada will enhance communication behavior and vaccine acceptance during pregnancy.