You Can Convince People to Get Vaccinated – but Not (Just) by Dispelling Myths
There are several reasons for not vaccinating, and not all of them fit into our stereotypes about how anti-vax people think. The new analysis identifies four reasons people miss shots and how to convince everyone to reconsider.
If a person doesn’t believe vaccines work or are safe, there is little you can do to convince them other than dispelling the myths they are working on – which doesn’t always work. Fortunately, this is just one of the “four Cs” that the researchers identified (a lack of confidence in vaccines).
You will most likely run into overconfident people: they don’t mind injections, but they really don’t care. You can remind them why vaccination is important: think about your parents, grandmothers and grandfathers who will gladly make a flu shot or Tdap, when a new baby appears in the family. Policymakers can help by making vaccinations normal, expected, and easy.
Other people do the math : They weigh the risks and rewards, which is a great approach to any kind of health care, but that’s a problem if their calculations include myths spread by anti-aids. Correcting some of their information can help shift the balance.
Finally, convenience affects some people the most: these are people who find it difficult to take pictures or find the time or place to take them. As a friend, could you help someone in this category simplify their logistics (for example by offering travel or babysitting) or reminding them that most common vaccines for children and adults are free under the ACA .
Using Behavioral Ideas to Improve the Effectiveness of Vaccination Policy | Insights from Behavioral and Brain Sciences with Infection Control Today
Photo by Ann-Liz Heinrichs .
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