Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis

There is a continued need for research to better understand the influence social media has on parental vaccination attitudes and behaviors, especially research capturing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this study was to explore parents’ perspectives related to the impact the pandem...

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Main Authors: Holly B. Fontenot, Kevin M. Quist, Gary Glauberman, Alexandra Michel, Gregory Zimet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2311476
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author Holly B. Fontenot
Kevin M. Quist
Gary Glauberman
Alexandra Michel
Gregory Zimet
author_facet Holly B. Fontenot
Kevin M. Quist
Gary Glauberman
Alexandra Michel
Gregory Zimet
author_sort Holly B. Fontenot
collection DOAJ
description There is a continued need for research to better understand the influence social media has on parental vaccination attitudes and behaviors, especially research capturing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this study was to explore parents’ perspectives related to the impact the pandemic had on 1) social media engagement, 2) vaccine messaging on social media, and 3) factors to guide future intervention development. Between February and March 2022, 6 online, synchronous, text-based focus groups were conducted with parents of adolescents aged 11 to 17 years. Participants who all utilized social media were recruited from across the United States. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. A total of 64 parents participated. Average age was 47 years, and participants were predominantly White (71.9%), female (84.3%), and engaged with social media multiple times per day (51.6%). Participants (95.3%) viewed obtaining all recommended vaccines as important or very important; however, overall vaccination rates for their adolescents were varied (50% ≥1 dose HPV; 59.4% MenACWY; 78.1% Tdap; 65.6% Flu; 81.3% COVID-19). Three themes emerged highlighting the pandemic’s impact on parent’s (1) general patterns of social media use, (2) engagement about vaccines on social media and off-line behaviors related to vaccination, and (3) perspectives for developing a credible and trustworthy social media intervention about vaccination. Participants reported fatigue from contentious vaccine-related content on social media and desired future messaging to be from recognizable health institutions/associations with links to reputable resources. Plus, providers should continue to provide strong vaccine recommendations in clinic.
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spelling doaj-art-d379c32669d94e9ab8f5acf09b0d9ef62025-08-20T02:34:20ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2024-12-0120110.1080/21645515.2024.2311476Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysisHolly B. Fontenot0Kevin M. Quist1Gary Glauberman2Alexandra Michel3Gregory Zimet4School of Nursing, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indianapolis, IN, USASchool of Nursing, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USASchool of Nursing, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USAThere is a continued need for research to better understand the influence social media has on parental vaccination attitudes and behaviors, especially research capturing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this study was to explore parents’ perspectives related to the impact the pandemic had on 1) social media engagement, 2) vaccine messaging on social media, and 3) factors to guide future intervention development. Between February and March 2022, 6 online, synchronous, text-based focus groups were conducted with parents of adolescents aged 11 to 17 years. Participants who all utilized social media were recruited from across the United States. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. A total of 64 parents participated. Average age was 47 years, and participants were predominantly White (71.9%), female (84.3%), and engaged with social media multiple times per day (51.6%). Participants (95.3%) viewed obtaining all recommended vaccines as important or very important; however, overall vaccination rates for their adolescents were varied (50% ≥1 dose HPV; 59.4% MenACWY; 78.1% Tdap; 65.6% Flu; 81.3% COVID-19). Three themes emerged highlighting the pandemic’s impact on parent’s (1) general patterns of social media use, (2) engagement about vaccines on social media and off-line behaviors related to vaccination, and (3) perspectives for developing a credible and trustworthy social media intervention about vaccination. Participants reported fatigue from contentious vaccine-related content on social media and desired future messaging to be from recognizable health institutions/associations with links to reputable resources. Plus, providers should continue to provide strong vaccine recommendations in clinic.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2311476Adolescent vaccinationsocial mediavaccine messagingcredibilityCOVID-19 pandemic
spellingShingle Holly B. Fontenot
Kevin M. Quist
Gary Glauberman
Alexandra Michel
Gregory Zimet
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Adolescent vaccination
social media
vaccine messaging
credibility
COVID-19 pandemic
title Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
title_full Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
title_fullStr Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
title_full_unstemmed Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
title_short Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media utilization, influences related to parental vaccine decision making, and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns: A qualitative analysis
title_sort impact of the covid 19 pandemic on social media utilization influences related to parental vaccine decision making and opinions on trustworthy social media vaccination campaigns a qualitative analysis
topic Adolescent vaccination
social media
vaccine messaging
credibility
COVID-19 pandemic
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2311476
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