Persuasive Communication Factors and Their Effect on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Amongst Residents of the Informal Urban Settlement in Kenya

Abstract

Despite the immense resources and intensified interventions by the government and the international community, the desired uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in Kenya has not been commendable. Hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine remains high among the Kenyan population. Misconception and negative publicity have widely affected vaccine uptake. Since the vaccine is now readily available in the country’s private and public health facilities, it is critical to convince those hesitant to take it. Persuasive communication plays a critical role in the messaging framework during a public health crisis. They mostly rely on various communication channels, communication sources, and messaging structures to convey the public health message at different levels and to various targets. Given the expansive information environment, we sought to characterize the use of persuasive communication factors for COVID-19 vaccine information and determine their effect on vaccine acceptance. This study evaluated persuasive communication factors and their effect on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among residents of informal urban settlements in Kenya. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in the informal urban settlement of Kibera. Data was collected using a structured pretested questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Demographic variables were analyzed and presented using means and proportions. The results indicated that trustworthiness/expertise (β = 0.175, p = 0.001), attractiveness/likability (β = 0.120, p = 0.009), and familiarity/similarity (β = 0.165, p = 0.001) significantly affected the likelihood of vaccine acceptance. Message factors such as factual/logical appeals (β = 0.829, p = 0.000) significantly and positively affected the likelihood of vaccination. Channel factors such as interactivity (β = 0.439, p = 0.000) and decidability (β = 0.287, p = 0.019) significantly positively affected the likelihood of vaccination. The study found that trustworthiness/expertise, attractiveness/likability, familiarity/similarity, factual/logical appeals, interactivity, and decidability significantly affect vaccine acceptance. These findings can inform policymakers, public health professionals, and communication experts on effective communication strategies to enhance vaccine uptake in informal urban settlements.