Skeptical Health Mavens May Limit COVID-19 Vaccine Diffusion: Using the Innovation Diffusion Cycle to Interpret Results of a Cross-sectional Survey among People Who are Socially Vulnerable.
J Health Commun
; 27(6): 375-381, 2022 06 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1996985
ABSTRACT
We sought to identify barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among persons who are socially vulnerable in light of the natural cycle of innovation diffusion. Widespread adoption of a health innovation requires a cadre of opinion leaders to build on successes experienced by early adopters. One type of opinion leader in healthcare are health mavens members of a community who maintain up-to-date health knowledge and share their knowledge others. We surveyed 139 persons who are socially vulnerable regarding their COVID-19 vaccination intention, and evaluated their responses based on psychological traits captured by two scales innovativeness and health mavenism. Health mavenism was not strongly correlated with COVID-19 vaccine intention. Health mavens often relied on their own healthcare providers (n = 46) and health agency websites (n = 42) for vaccine information. Those who relied on their faith leaders (n = 4) reported a lower likelihood of getting vaccinated (31.5% vs. 76.0%, p < .05). The observed lack of support by health mavens represents a critical barrier to COVID-19 vaccine uptake; targeting campaigns to health mavens may increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in socially vulnerable communities.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19 Vaccines
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Health Commun
Journal subject:
Public Health
/
Health Services
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
10810730.2022.2111619
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