Using Health Behavior Theory to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Scoping Review of Communication and Messaging Interventions

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy has been among the most vexing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately leading to maladaptive health behaviors such as vaccine delay and refusal. A variety of approaches have been employed to address this problem, including communication and messaging interventions targeting the underlying determinants of vaccine hesitancy. However, there exists no published evidence synthesis examining how such interventions are using health behavior theory to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review of health communication and messaging interventions aimed at addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and to systematically evaluate the use of health behavior theory in the design of these interventions. The review followed a five-step iterative framework proposed by Levac and colleagues. Comprehensive searches using an exhaustive list of keyword combinations were used across three online databases to identify articles to screen for inclusion. A structured, validated coding scheme was then applied to assess the use of health behavior theory. Additional study data were extracted using a separate structured form. A total of 36 articles published between January 2020 and February 2022 met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Ten studies (27.7%) did not mention or use health behavior theory at all. Most studies ( n = 26) at least mentioned theory or theory-relevant constructs, with 26 different theories and 52 different theoretical constructs represented in the sample. Although theory and theoretical determinants of vaccination behavior were often mentioned, few studies used theory to specify and target causal pathways of behavior change, and only one study targeted misinformation as a determinant of vaccine hesitancy. The findings from this review provide critical insight into the state of theory-based intervention design and point to significant gaps in the literature to prioritize in future research.