Testing Likely Response to Behavioral Nudges and Shoves to Promote COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Amongst Segments of the Unvaccinated Population of South Africa

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Abstract

In early 2022, as the vaccination rate in South Africa slowed, there was a strong need for COVID-19 communications to evolve from mass information and education campaigns targeting the general population, to more targeted approaches to motivate uptake amongst population segments facing convenience, complacency, and confidence barriers.

Project Last Mile (PLM) and Ipsos conducted a representative study of the population of South Africa to: (1) understand population segments with regards to their likelihood of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, (2) understand the drivers and barriers around getting the COVID-19 vaccine for each segment; and (3) test the likelihood of adoption of a range of enabling, incentivizing, and mandating behavioral interventions (“nudges and shoves”).

The study demonstrated that a significant proportion of the unvaccinated population is willing to get vaccinated, given the right conditions. Making it easy and convenient to get vaccinated (enabling) is likely to deliver moderate to strong impact. Ease of access, the ability to take time off from work, the provision of a reservation, and free transportation were the most influential factors in encouraging vaccination for the largest number of people.

Acknowledgments

This report is based on a study conducted by Project Last Mile (PLM) and Ipsos in 2022, in close partnership with the South African National Department of Health (NDoH) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of PLM and Ipsos and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.