Study: Tailored Messages Failed to Positively Influence Vaccine-hesitant Parents

New parents who were vaccine-hesitant were no more likely to vaccinate their infants on a timely basis after being sent web-based customized messages intended to influence attitudes and intentions, according to a study published in the November 2020 Pediatrics. The study, “Web-Based Tailored Messaging to Increase Vaccination: A Randomized Clinical Trial” (published online Oct. 12), evaluated the effectiveness of the web-based intervention in which messages were framed according to personal values, such as acknowledging parents’ “right to choose” or desire to “keep their child safe.” The study enrolled women during the last trimester of pregnancy between April 2016 and June 2019, and compared those who received the tailored “Vaccines and Your Baby” messages to a second group that received an untailored version of the message and a third group that had traditional pediatric care. The intervention was administered at four time points across the follow-up: last trimester of pregnancy or when a child was less than age 2 months; at child age 4-6 months; at child age 10-12 months; and at child age 13-15 months. Researchers found no difference in timely uptake of infant vaccines between the three groups of women, despite the crafting of messages to address each person’s unique attitudes, beliefs, experiences, knowledge and values. Approximately 1 in 10 parents choose to refuse or delay vaccines for their children^, a behavior that has been responsible for a number of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, according to the study. The authors conclude that efforts should continue to develop and test communication approaches to reduce parents’ vaccination concerns and improve the timely uptake of infant immunizations.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.