April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Don’t Call It “Mass Vaccination”: Results From a “Mass Vaccination” Versus “Community Vaccination” Labeling Experiment
The use of centralized locations for efficient community vaccinations is a widespread practice (WHO, 2020), especially for COVID-19 vaccines (Goralnick, Kaufmann, & Gawande, 2021). However, framing these efforts as "mass vaccination" may impact public motivation negatively (Schuldt, 2016). Formative data showed that this was the case with participants associating the term “mass” with schemas signifying death or despair, while "community" could evoke positive or neutral attributes.
To examine the effects of “mass vaccination” versus “community” vaccination language on vaccination beliefs and potential behavior, a 2 (Mass vs. Community) X 2 (Clinic vs. Event) between-subjects experiment was conducted. This study adapts belief measures from the Reasoned Action Approach and the Extended Parallel Process Model. As COVID-19 vaccinations became available to U.S. adults, West Virginians aged 18 years and older recruited via Qualtrics, Inc. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions to read an online “news” story announcing either “Community Vaccination Clinics,” “Community Vaccination Events,” “Mass Vaccination Clinics,” or “Mass Vaccination Events” in West Virginia (all else held constant). After reading the article, unvaccinated participants reported their intentions to get vaccinated or encourage vaccination both generally and at the specific type of location discussed in their respective message condition (e.g., at a “Community Vaccination Clinic”), as well as perceptions about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination.
Predictions were assessed using ANOVA controlling for all other study variables. Statistically significant effects included: intention to get vaccinated at the message-concordant location, intention to encourage family and friends to get vaccinated at the message-concordant location, and intention to get one’s child (for parents and caregivers of children) vaccinated at the message-concordant location. Specifically, participants in the “Community Vaccination” conditions reported higher intention to get vaccinated at those locations than participants in the “Mass Vaccination” conditions. This was also the case for participants in the “Vaccination Clinic” conditions, who reported greater intention to get vaccinated at their respective vaccination location than those in the “Vaccination Event” conditions. The interaction effect manifested as those in the “Community Vaccination Clinic” condition having the highest intention to get vaccinated at that location. A similar pattern of results was observed for the intention to encourage one’s family to get vaccinated, and the intention of caregivers to vaccinate their children at the respective vaccination location.
These data suggest that using “Mass Vaccination” language likely undermines vaccination activities, at least in the case of COVID-19 vaccination. Indeed, the state of West Virginia adopted the use of “community vaccination clinics,” partially because of these data (WV Department of Health and Human Resources, 2021), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to avoid use of “mass vaccination” in favor of community-oriented language (2022). Further results will be discussed regarding potential reasons behind this observation as well as practical considerations for vaccine messaging moving forward, especially as the U.S. government continues to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among those who have yet to complete the primary series as well as for the many due for an updated Omicron booster (The White House, 2022).
To examine the effects of “mass vaccination” versus “community” vaccination language on vaccination beliefs and potential behavior, a 2 (Mass vs. Community) X 2 (Clinic vs. Event) between-subjects experiment was conducted. This study adapts belief measures from the Reasoned Action Approach and the Extended Parallel Process Model. As COVID-19 vaccinations became available to U.S. adults, West Virginians aged 18 years and older recruited via Qualtrics, Inc. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions to read an online “news” story announcing either “Community Vaccination Clinics,” “Community Vaccination Events,” “Mass Vaccination Clinics,” or “Mass Vaccination Events” in West Virginia (all else held constant). After reading the article, unvaccinated participants reported their intentions to get vaccinated or encourage vaccination both generally and at the specific type of location discussed in their respective message condition (e.g., at a “Community Vaccination Clinic”), as well as perceptions about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination.
Predictions were assessed using ANOVA controlling for all other study variables. Statistically significant effects included: intention to get vaccinated at the message-concordant location, intention to encourage family and friends to get vaccinated at the message-concordant location, and intention to get one’s child (for parents and caregivers of children) vaccinated at the message-concordant location. Specifically, participants in the “Community Vaccination” conditions reported higher intention to get vaccinated at those locations than participants in the “Mass Vaccination” conditions. This was also the case for participants in the “Vaccination Clinic” conditions, who reported greater intention to get vaccinated at their respective vaccination location than those in the “Vaccination Event” conditions. The interaction effect manifested as those in the “Community Vaccination Clinic” condition having the highest intention to get vaccinated at that location. A similar pattern of results was observed for the intention to encourage one’s family to get vaccinated, and the intention of caregivers to vaccinate their children at the respective vaccination location.
These data suggest that using “Mass Vaccination” language likely undermines vaccination activities, at least in the case of COVID-19 vaccination. Indeed, the state of West Virginia adopted the use of “community vaccination clinics,” partially because of these data (WV Department of Health and Human Resources, 2021), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to avoid use of “mass vaccination” in favor of community-oriented language (2022). Further results will be discussed regarding potential reasons behind this observation as well as practical considerations for vaccine messaging moving forward, especially as the U.S. government continues to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among those who have yet to complete the primary series as well as for the many due for an updated Omicron booster (The White House, 2022).