Young Adults' Preferences for Influenza Vaccination Campaign Messages: Implications for COVID-19 Vaccine Intervention Design and Development

"The urgency to vaccinate young adults and foster healthy vaccination habits in this population is particularly pronounced in light of the rising negative media surrounding vaccination, as seen amid the COVID-19 pandemic..."

Evidence suggests that health campaigns can effect positive changes in people's health attitudes and behaviours in various contexts, especially those that are tailored to individuals' health needs and preferences. Health campaigns often use the strategy of inducing and improving audience participation and engagement. Vaccination is a tool for protecting young adults and their social circles from viruses and, more broadly, for shaping emerging adults' vaccination behaviour in the long run. However, amid the prevalence of misinformation (e.g., COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories), it may be more challenging to develop vaccination messages that resonate with this population. Therefore, this study examines young adults' preferences for seasonal influenza vaccination campaigns to inform effective intervention design and development, including to support COVID-19 vaccination communication efforts.

Qualitative survey questions were developed to gauge young adults' preferences for seasonal influenza vaccination campaigns. Participants (n=545; 73.9% female), who were recruited from the University of Texas at Austin, completed an online survey between March to April 2015, coinciding with the university's free vaccination programme. They were asked to respond to and elaborate on an open-ended question: "In general, what do you expect to get from health posters?"

Thematic analysis revealed that young adults prefer vaccination campaigns that rely on: (i) quality and balanced information from (ii) credible information sources, positioned in the (iii) relevant health context and that (iv) emphasise actionable messages and incorporate (v) persuasive campaign design.

While many young adults underscored the importance of fear-appeal messages in persuading them to take health actions, some young adults also suggested avoiding fear campaigns due to discomfort. This particular finding points to the fact that young adults who share similar sociodemographic characteristics may hold varied views towards persuasive techniques and, in turn, underscores the importance of taking a nuanced perspective in vaccination campaign design and development.

The researchers suggest that one way to address the variability in young adults' preferences for persuasive techniques is to involve them in the message design process, using mechanisms such as focus groups or in-depth interviews. Health organisations and governments can also adopt technology-based solutions, such as social listening techniques, to monitor and manage young adults' acceptance of and sentiments toward vaccination campaigns. For example, in a study cited in the paper, researchers collected and coded 12,886 social media posts to evaluate global COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. This study showed that negative social media posts had the most corrosive effects on vaccine confidence, compared to other types of social media posts - insights that could help identify ways to improve vaccination uptake.

Based on findings of the study, along with insights from the literature, the researchers developed sample vaccine campaigns that feature varying levels of fear appeals to highlight the ways this study can inform vaccination intervention design and development (see figures 2-4 in the paper, with one example above).

Future research could examine the underlying mechanisms that drive young adults' preferences for particular vaccination campaign interventions.