Contributions and Impact of Health Communication Research to Vaccination Efforts and Acceptance

ABSTRACT

Vaccines (a medical product) and vaccination recommendations (expert advice on who should receive, when, and how often) have grown in importance and prominence in the past 15 years, including because of a recent COVID-19 pandemic. This essay highlights contributions from vaccine and vaccination-related health communication research since 2010. This research has had significant impacts – that is, visible and discernible positive effects – on the ways health communication is undertaken broadly (e.g. at the campaign level) and at the health care provider-patient level (e.g. conversations with parents and patients regarding vaccine benefits, risks, and safety). As this essay illustrates, health communication research has resulted in greater use of formative research to guide vaccination campaign and education efforts, better identification and understanding of the factors behind vaccination delay and declination, and greater recognition that communication efforts can fail to achieve desired outcomes or generate unintended consequences. Health communication research has also documented the powerful influence of healthcare provider communication on parent and patient understanding and compliance with immunization recommendations. Importantly, this research has also shown the characteristics of provider-patient communication matter much. Healthcare providers must have or establish a high degree of trust, be well-versed in vaccine efficacy and safety, and be adept at using their personal experiences, information tailoring/personalization, and evidence-based communication strategies to increase the likelihood of success.

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