Empathic Engagement With the COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitant in Private Facebook Groups: A Randomized Trial

Authors

Lorien C. Abroms, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Donald Koban, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Nandita Krishnan, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Melissa Napolitano, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Samuel Simmens, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Brendan Caskey, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Tien-Chin Wu, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
David A. Broniatowski, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

7-30-2023

Journal

Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education

DOI

10.1177/10901981231188313

Keywords

communication technology; eHealth; general terms; health communications; internet; social marketing; social media; vaccination and immunization

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Vaccine misinformation has been widely spread on social media, but attempts to combat it have not taken advantage of the attributes of social media platforms for health education. METHODS: The objective was to test the efficacy of moderated social media discussions about COVID-19 vaccines in private Facebook groups. Unvaccinated U.S. adults were recruited using Amazon's Mechanical Turk and randomized. In the intervention group, moderators posted two informational posts per day for 4 weeks and engaged in relationship-building interactions with group members. In the control group, participants received a referral to Facebook's COVID-19 Information Center. Follow-up surveys with participants ( = 478) were conducted 6 weeks post-enrollment. RESULTS: At 6 weeks follow-up, no differences were found in vaccination rates. Intervention participants were more likely to show improvements in their COVID-19 vaccination intentions (vs. stay same or decline) compared with control ( = .03). They also improved more in their intentions to encourage others to vaccinate for COVID-19. There were no differences in COVID-19 vaccine confidence or intentions between groups. General vaccine and responsibility to vaccinate were higher in the intervention compared with control. Most participants in the intervention group reported high levels of satisfaction. Participants engaged with content (e.g., commented, reacted) 11.8 times on average over the course of 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Engaging with vaccine-hesitant individuals in private Facebook groups improved some COVID-19 vaccine-related beliefs and represents a promising strategy.

APA Citation

Abroms, Lorien C.; Koban, Donald; Krishnan, Nandita; Napolitano, Melissa; Simmens, Samuel; Caskey, Brendan; Wu, Tien-Chin; and Broniatowski, David A., "Empathic Engagement With the COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitant in Private Facebook Groups: A Randomized Trial" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3010.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3010

Department

Prevention and Community Health