Boosting vaccination: Accelerating vaccine uptake through communication science

Authors

  • Victoria Ledford University of Maryland, College Park (USA).
  • Xiaoli Nan University of Maryland, College Park (USA).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.23759

Keywords:

behavior change, COVID-19 vaccine, communication science, persuasion, public health

Abstract

Effective public health messages about vaccination can bolster human vaccine uptake to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Despite this potentiality, the One Health framework that values an interdependent approach to health has not fully considered the role of communication science in promoting public health. In this article, we offer evidence-based recommendations for health practitioners and researchers creating vaccine promotion messages. An interdisciplinary field, communication science suggests that vaccine messages can change beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors through a systematic understanding of one’s audience and targeted and tailored health messages that appeal to beliefs about the outcomes of a behavior and beliefs about an individual’s behavioral efficacy. Implications for and challenges to vaccine communication are discussed.

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Author Biographies

Victoria Ledford, University of Maryland, College Park (USA).

Assistant Professor of Health Communication at Auburn University (USA). She is also an affiliate member of the Center for Health and Risk Communication at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Xiaoli Nan, University of Maryland, College Park (USA).

Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and Professor of Communication Science at the University of Maryland, College Park (USA), where she is the Director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication. She is also an affiliate professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, a faculty associate of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and a full member of the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Population Science Program.

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Published

2023-02-23

How to Cite

Ledford, V., & Nan, X. (2023). Boosting vaccination: Accelerating vaccine uptake through communication science. Metode Science Studies Journal, (13), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.23759
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Issue

Science. The genesis of ideas (vol. 13, 2023)

Section

One health, one world

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