Can Risk Communication Surveillance Prompt COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Internet users? Applying the Situational Theory of Problem Solving: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

The World Health Organization has recently raised concerns about the low number of fully vaccinated people against COVID-19 among developing countries. The low ratio of fully vaccinated people and the emergence of renewed infectious variants correspond to worsening public health. Global health managers have highlighted COVID-19 vaccine-related infodemics as the significant risk perception factor that hinders mass vaccination campaigns. Given the ambiguous digital communication environment which has fostered infodemics, developing nations struggle to boost public willingness to get people fully vaccinated. Authorities have launched some risk communication-laden digital interventions in response to infodemics. However, the value of these risk communication strategies employed to tackle infodemics needs to be evaluated. The current research using the tenets of the situational theory of problem-solving is novel, as it explores the impending effects of risk communication strategies. The relationship between infodemic-induced risk perception about COVID-19 vaccine safety and risk communication actions to intensify willingness to get fully vaccinated was examined. This research used a cross-sectional research design vis-à-vis nationally representative online survey. We collected data from 1946 internet users across Pakistan. Participants voluntarily participated in this research after filling consent form and reading the ethical permissions. Responses were received over three months, from May 2022 to July 2022. The results delineated that infodemics positively affect risk perception. This realization pushed the public to engage in risky communicative actions through reliance on and search for accurate information. Therefore, the prospect of managing infodemics through risk information exposure (e.g., digital interventions) using the situational context could predict robust willingness to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The pioneering results offer strategic considerations for health authorities to effectively man-age the descending spiral of optimal protection against COVID-19. This research concludes that the likelihood of managing infodemics using the situational context through exposure to relevant information could improve one's knowledge of forfending and selection, which can lead to robust protection against COVID-19. Hence, more situation-specific information about the underpinning problem (i.e., selection of appropriate vaccine) can be made accessible through several official digital sources to achieve a more active public health response.