April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Predicting COVID Vaccine Uptake in Racial Minorities: The Role of Information Sources, Attitude, and Norms
Vaccination is essential to reach herd immunity and, ultimately, end the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite massive communication campaigns to increase public confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines, the uptake in some areas has been lower among minority groups compared to Whites, especially among Black and Hispanic Americans. Marginalized racial/ethnic communities rely on diverse information sources and show divergent information-seeking behavior, which in turn might influence their COVID-19 vaccination attitude and perceived norms. To date, studies exploring socio-psychological factors associated with intentions to get the COVID-19 vaccines focus on predominantly White participants and treat race as control variables. Such approaches do not always consider the perceptions of marginalized communities, their distinctive information channels, and the needs for culturally-targeted intervention strategies. To address these gaps, this research is one of the first to explore how trust in distinct information sources, attitudes, and descriptive norms are associated with vaccination status among Black and Hispanic individuals in the U.S.. Drawing from the integrated behavioral model and communication infrastructure theory, we investigate how trust in traditional, digital, interpersonal, and institutional sources is associated with attitude (RQ1) and descriptive norms (RQ2) toward the COVID-19 vaccines. Consequently, we predict that attitudes (H1) and descriptive norms (H2) will positively predict actual behavior. A total of 405 completed responses were collected via Qualtrics Research Panel service during October and November 2021. The sample consisted of 51% Blacks and 51% Hispanics (mean age=32.03; Female=61.5%; median education=some college or associate’s degree; median income =$30,000-$39,999). The percentage of unvaccinated individuals among Blacks and Hispanics were 36% and 26%, respectively. To answer RQ1 and RQ2, we conducted hierarchical OLS regression analyses controlling for demographics, perceived threat, and worry about COVID-19. To test H1 and H2, we performed binary logistic regression. For Black participants, trust in institutional sources, including Johns Hopkins University, CDC, and state/county health department websites, was positively associated with attitudes toward the vaccines. However, none of the information trust factors significantly predicted descriptive norms. For Hispanic participants, higher levels of trust in doctors and medical professionals were associated with favorable views of the vaccines, whereas trust in neighbors negatively predicted vaccine attitudes. Trust in institutional sources was positively associated with descriptive norms among Hispanic participants. Positive attitudes and perceptions of descriptive norms in both racial groups were significantly associated with increased odds of getting the COVID-19 vaccines, supporting H1 and H2. Notably, trust in neighbors was positively associated with vaccine uptake among Black participants but negatively predicted vaccine status among Hispanic participants. The findings advance health communication literature by demonstrating the divergent relationships between information trust, attitudes, and descriptive norms in two underserved racial groups. Results provide guidance for public health communication professionals. Intervention efforts to cultivate favorable attitudes and normative beliefs among racial minorities should identify the optimal combinations of trustworthy sources for COVID-19 vaccine information.