Abstract
Following decreasing vaccination rates over the last two decades, understanding the roots of vaccine hesitancy has become a public health priority. Vaccine hesitancy is linked to scientifically unfounded fears around the MMR vaccine and autism which are often fuelled by misinformation spread on social media. To counteract the effects of misinformation about vaccines and in particular the falling vaccination rates, much research has focused on identifying the antecedents of vaccine hesitancy. As antecedents of vaccine hesitancy are contextually dependent, a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be successful in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) populations, and even in certain (non-typical) WEIRD sub-populations. Successful interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy must be based on understanding of the specific context. To identify potential contextual differences in the antecedents of vaccine hesitancy, we review research from three non-WEIRD populations in East Asia, and three WEIRD sub-populations. We find that regardless of the context, mistrust seems to be the key factor leading to vaccine hesitancy. However, the object of mistrust varies across WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations, and across WEIRD subgroups suggesting that effective science communication must be mindful of these differences.
Highlights
Vaccine hesitancy is defined as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services” (MacDonald et al, 2015, p. 4161)
We examined vaccine hesitancy based on research in six contexts from both WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations
We found in the Japanese context, the deficit model may be effective in combatting vaccine hesitancy, with roughly a fifth of parents changing their minds based on the information in the survey, and the majority of those who did not indicating a willingness to change their minds following corrective information from the right source
Summary
Vaccine hesitancy is defined as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services” (MacDonald et al, 2015, p. 4161). Vaccine hesitancy is defined as “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services” The roots of vaccine hesitancy are not monolithic across cultures (Hornsey et al, 2018), yet many generalisations are made from studies exclusively conducted on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) populations (Henrich et al, 2010). WEIRD populations tend to differ from non-WEIRD populations in various traits, for example being more individualistic, having more independent self-concepts and being less motivated to conform to the group (Henrich et al, 2010). Amongst non-WEIRD populations, it has been argued that East Asians are the most different to Antecedents of Vaccine Hesitancy
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