Global Vaccine Hesitancy Segmentation: A Cross-European Approach

Abstract

Vaccine-preventable diseases are global mainly in a globalized world that is characterized by a continuous movement of people and goods across countries. Vaccine hesitancy, the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines, is rising worldwide. What if the problem of vaccine hesitancy could be most effectively managed when treated globally rather than on a national or regional basis? What if a global vaccine-hesitant segment exists and the differences among countries are not so significant? Based on the Global Marketing Strategy paradigm, this paper shows that seven different cross-European segments exist based on the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors collected in 28 European countries. These pan-European segments are differentiable (people in those segments have similar characteristics that are visibly dissimilar from the ones in other segments) and actionable (organizations would be able to propose interventions to the hesitant segments based on their profiles). With segmentation being the starting point of many public health intervention strategies for avoiding vaccine-hesitancy, the results recommend moderating the full-adaptation strategy that follows the “context matters” principle suggested by several political and public health international organizations. Embracing a more standardized strategy will allow the development of better services and strategies that support and enable desirable vaccination behaviors.

Political Populism, Institutional Distrust and Vaccination Uptake: A Mediation Analysis

“…Nevertheless, the frequency of use of these online social networks did not report any statistically significant difference. The communication media mix depends on the vaccine hesitancy segment that citizens belong to [ 70 ].…”

“…Public health has used, and should continue doing so in the future, health education, health promotion, and social marketing, as effective tools for influencing behavior, in the fight against several communicable and non-communicable diseases [ 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. As the evidence shows, compulsory measures to vaccinate hesitant people have never been the answer to the lack of confidence in vaccines [ 70 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Evidence indicates that social marketing has considerable value in voluntarily fostering vaccine acceptance [ 72 , 73 , 79 ].…”

Vaccine Hesitancy and Political Populism. An Invariant Cross-European Perspective

“…Fourth, countries included in Cluster 3 portray the best position represented by the low rates of the three drivers. Nevertheless, the “small pockets” concern could be a problem in these countries due to the existence of global vaccine-hesitant segments [ 69 ].…”

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Resistance in India Explored through a Population-Based Longitudinal Survey

“…However, historically vaccine hesitancy has been a challenging factor all over the world. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy worldwide have varied from religious aspects to its association with adverse health hazards [1]. Denmark, Ireland, and India experienced a hindrance in the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program due to media-induced alleged symptomatic manifestations in vaccinated individuals [2,3].…”