Effective Messages in Vaccine Promotion: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To test the effectiveness of messages designed to reduce vaccine misperceptions and increase vaccination rates for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). METHODS: A Web-based nationally representative 2-wave survey experiment was conducted with 1759 parents age 18 years and older residing in the United States who have children in their household age 17 years or younger (conducted June–July 2011). Parents were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 interventions: (1) information explaining the lack of evidence that MMR causes autism from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (2) textual information about the dangers of the diseases prevented by MMR from the Vaccine Information Statement; (3) images of children who have diseases prevented by the MMR vaccine; (4) a dramatic narrative about an infant who almost died of measles from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet; or to a control group. RESULTS: None of the interventions increased parental intent to vaccinate a future child. Refuting claims of an MMR/autism link successfully reduced misperceptions that vaccines cause autism but nonetheless decreased intent to vaccinate among parents who had the least favorable vaccine attitudes. In addition, images of sick children increased expressed belief in a vaccine/autism link and a dramatic narrative about an infant in danger increased self-reported belief in serious vaccine side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Current public health communications about vaccines may not be effective. For some parents, they may actually increase misperceptions or reduce vaccination intention. Attempts to increase concerns about communicable diseases or correct false claims about vaccines may be especially likely to be counterproductive. More study of pro-vaccine messaging is needed.

Countering antivaccination attitudes

“…Participants assigned to the autism correction condition read information summarizing recent research showing that vaccines do not increase the risk of autism in children. The materials presented in these two conditions were adapted from those used in a prior study (6) and were originally compiled from information from pages on the CDC website (www.cdc.gov). Participants assigned to the control condition read an unrelated vignette about a scientific topic (also used in a prior study) (6).…”

“…The materials presented in these two conditions were adapted from those used in a prior study (6) and were originally compiled from information from pages on the CDC website (www.cdc.gov). Participants assigned to the control condition read an unrelated vignette about a scientific topic (also used in a prior study) (6). For all three conditions, timing controls ensured that participants spent a sufficient amount of time reading the materials provided to them.…”

“…However, recent findings have led researchers to question whether direct provaccine messages are efficacious, even raising the possibility that they may be harmful (6, 7). Nyhan et al (6) and Nyhan and Reifler (7) presented parents with provaccine information from the CDC website, but these provaccine messages failed to improve their attitudes toward vaccination. In fact, these studies reported a "backfire effect": vaccine skeptics formed even stronger negative opinions about vaccinations after being given information intended to undermine the supposed connection between vaccinations and autism (a similar effect is discussed in the work in ref.…”

Human papillomavirus vaccination among adolescents in Georgia

“…These findings are similar to a study by Nyhan et al who evaluated measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine messages and found that pro-vaccine messages do not always work and may vary depending on parental attitudes toward vaccines. 17 Vaccine message framing for parents is an important factor that should be considered in future studies using educational materials. Although we pilot tested the materials with a small group of parents and adolescent, we did not specifically measure vaccine messaging and framing in the parent and adolescent educational materials.…”

My Child Doesn't Need to be Vaccinated Because We Lead a Healthy Lifestyle: Compensatory Health Beliefs Predicting Intentions and Reported Child Vaccination

“…As adherence to vaccination is hotly contested among some parents in the Internet arena and traditional interventions do not yield the expected outcome of increased positive attitudes/ intentions and subsequent vaccination behavior [12], CHBs are a possible psychological mechanism involved in vaccination nonadherence: they explains how, in spite of all the 'correct' information, people decline adherence yet still see themselves as competent and responsible parents. The repeated documentation of the operation of CHBs on vaccination calls for interventions specifically targeting CHBs.…”