The multi-dimensional impact of different sources of information on influenza vaccination of college students in China

Abstract

Objective: To explore whether/how the willingness of Chinese college students to receive the influenza vaccines in the sample is affected by different information channels. Participants: Two hundred and four volunteers were recruited to participate in an anonymous online survey. All participants were college students, mainly undergraduates (81.86%), with a higher proportion of women (56.86%). Methods: Participants answered anonymous questionnaires through the website, including demographic data (age, gender, education, etc.), media exposure channels and frequency, views and attitudes toward influenza vaccines, etc. An ordered logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the effects of different information sources on influenza vaccination among college students. Results: Exposure to traditional media, digital media, and interpersonal communication promotes college students’ understanding of influenza vaccines. Exposure to digital media alleviates college students’ hesitation to vaccinate, while interpersonal interaction and digital media exposure promote college students’ willingness to vaccinate. Conclusions: Digital media is increasingly important in the lives of Chinese college students to promote healthy behaviors such as influenza vaccinations.

Keywords:

• College students
• influenza vaccination
• information sources
• China

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of China and received approval from the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Nanjing normal University.