Predicting Vaccine Confidence: Patient Self-advocacy and Fear of COVID-19 in the United States

This study investigated the extent to which patient self-advocacy predicted COVID-19 vaccine hesitance in the U.S. (n = 1987). Results indicated being vaccinated, increasing age, and higher education were each positively related to increased vaccine non-hesitance. Also, those who sought more informa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Southern communication journal Vol. 87; no. 4; pp. 348 - 360
Main Authors Croucher, Stephen M, Murray, Niki, Ashwell, Douglas, Cullinane, Joanna, Nguyen, Thao
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Memphis Routledge 08.08.2022
Southern States Communication Association
Subjects
COVID-19
Elections
Higher education
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
patient self-advocacy
uncertainty reduction
Vaccine hesitance
Vaccines
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Summary:This study investigated the extent to which patient self-advocacy predicted COVID-19 vaccine hesitance in the U.S. (n = 1987). Results indicated being vaccinated, increasing age, and higher education were each positively related to increased vaccine non-hesitance. Also, those who sought more information and who were more assertive about their health had more non-hesitance toward the vaccine. Higher vaccine hesitance was found among participants who were Black and from other ethnic minorities, those who voted for Donald Trump or who did not vote in the 2020 election, and those who were more prone to nonadherence to health provider instructions. Targeted communication campaigns to connect to people with these specific characteristics and levels of advocacy can decrease vaccine non-hesitance.
ISSN:1041-794X
1930-3203
DOI:10.1080/1041794X.2022.2099569