Los Angeles, CA (October 1, 2015) While scientists are continuously improving vaccinations to stop the spread of disease, many people continue to opt out. In a new review of the literature, researchers identified four types of people who decide not to vaccinate due to issues of complacency, convenience, confidence, and calculation, and offer strategies to address these issues. This study is published today in the new issue of Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences , a Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) journal published by SAGE.
Analyzing factors that influence decisions to vaccinate and issues that impede vaccinations, researchers Betsch et al. put decision-makers into four broad categories:
Complacent: Individuals who do not care about immunization
Convenience: Individuals who lack the willpower to vaccinate or face the inconvenience of cost and travel
Confidence: Individuals who possess incorrect knowledge that distorts their perceived risk of vaccination and weakens their trust in vaccinations
Calculation: Individuals who weigh potential pros and cons of vaccination, and may not vaccinate when information is contradictory
The researchers assume confident individuals to be the hardest to persuade, and that attempts to do so may have negative effects, such as increasing their resistance to vaccination.
"Efforts should be concentrated on motivating the complacent, removing barriers for those for whom vaccination is inconvenient, and adding incentives and additional utility for the calculating," the researchers wrote. "These strategies might be more promising, economic and effective than convincing those who lack confidence in vaccination."
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Find out more by reading the full article, "Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Vaccination Policy Effectiveness." For an embargoed version of the full text, please email camille.gamboa@sagepub.com .
SAGE Founded 50 years ago by Sara Miller McCune to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community, SAGE publishes more than 850 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. http://www.sagepub.com
Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences is an annual publication of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) that presents original research and scientific reviews relevant to public policy. This annual will allow scientists to share research that can help build sound policies, allow policymakers to provide feedback to the scientific community regarding research that could address societal challenges, and encourage the scientific community to build models that seriously consider implementation to address the needs of society. http://bbs.sagepub.com/
Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences