Use of a language intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a major global challenge facing COVID-19 immunization programs. Its main source is low public trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. In a preregistered experimental study, we investigated how using a foreign language when communicating COVID-19 vaccine information influences vaccine acceptance. Hong Kong Chinese residents (N = 611) received COVID-19 vaccine information either in their native Chinese or in English. English increased trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and, as a result, reduced vaccine hesitancy. This indicates that language can impact vaccine attitudes and demonstrate the potential of language interventions for a low cost, actionable strategy to curtail vaccine hesitancy amongst bilingual populations. Language interventions could contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being.

The vaccination rift effect provides evidence that source vaccination status determines the rejection of calls to get vaccinated

“…A second implication of the current research is that trust is key for crafting convincing vaccination messages 8,10 . However, our exploratory analyses indicate that different aspects of trust may be important for different demographics.…”

“…Western countries with sufficient public access to vaccines have insufficient vaccination rates 3 . A recent review of the psychological underpinnings of COVID-19 vaccine uptake has identified one key factor that promotes the decision to get vaccinated: Trust in the health authorities that recommend getting vaccinated 8 – 10 . This conclusion is also in line with past research on vaccine hesitancy that has identified confidence in vaccines and the system that delivers them is one of the keys to vaccine uptake 11 .…”

COVID-19 vaccination: patient uptake and attitudes in a multi-ethnic North London maternity unit

“…Tankwanchi et al 18 believed that vaccine hesitancy among migrant communities is determined more by cultural barriers, religious beliefs, access to vaccines and trust rather than language per se. Interestingly, Geipel et al 19 found that Hong Kong Chinese patients (n=611) were more likely to accept COVID-19 immunisation when information was presented in English rather than their native Chinese and suggested that material in English somehow increased patient confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine; however, this may represent an underlying protest against the Chinese government by Hong Kongers rather than a preference for the English language! Abba-Aji et al 20 reviewed 31 studies on vaccine access among migrants and ethnic minorities and suggested that these groups may experience barriers related to trust, cultural issues and language but many of the studies reported here pertained more to issues of vaccine access rather than any reluctance to immunisation.…”

Participatory Detection of Language Barriers towards Multilingual Sustainability(ies) in Africa

“…This may have both positive and negative consequences in the development field. In the health field (SDG 3-health and well-being) for instance, a study by Geipel et al [25] examined COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Hong-Kong participants. They found increased willingness to vaccinate when the advantages and disadvantages or risks of vaccination were described in a foreign language-English-rather than in their native language, Chinese.…”

“…Research results suggest that people perceive novel technologies as less risky/more beneficial when they hear about their advantages and disadvantages than when they read about them. In other words, the modality in which information is conveyed-orally or via printed text-could also affects judgment, decision, and behaviour [25].…”