Discussing COVID-19 Vaccines in Private Facebook Groups

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: COVID-19
• Interventions: Behavioral: COVID-19 vaccine information; Behavioral: Gist messages on COVID-19 vaccination

• Registration Number: NCT05422898
• Lead Sponsor: George Washington University

Brief Summary

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, a sizable proportion of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated and at high risk of death and serious illness from COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy, fueled by the proliferation of vaccine misinformation on social media, is one factor contributing to lack of vaccination. Current attempts to overcome vaccine misinformation focus on correcting or debunking falsehoods. Although debunking strategies are important components to any public health campaign, communications must also address rationales for vaccine hesitancy that vary among individuals and communities, and directly address the gist of their concerns in an empathetic, non-judgmental manner. We will conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of empathic, relationship-building interactions relative to standard provision of information on social media to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-01-17
• Primary Completion: 2022-04-04
• Study Completion: 2022-04-04
• Status Verified: 2022-06
• Study First Submitted: 2022-06-15
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-06-15
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-06-15
• Study First Posted: 2022-06-21
• Last Update Posted: 2022-06-21

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 508

Inclusion Criteria

• reside in the U.S.
• unvaccinated from COVID-19
• Use Facebook regularly (at least 1/day)

Exclusion Criteria

• age <18 years
• do not reside in the U.S.
• vaccinated from COVID-19
• do not use Facebook regularly (at least 1/day)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Information	COVID-19 vaccine information	Link to Facebook COVID-19 Information Center
Gist	Gist messages on COVID-19 vaccination	Gist-based messages on COVID-19 vaccination and moderated group discussions in a private Facebook group

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Engagement and satisfaction with the program	4 weeks	Engagement includes participation in the Facebook group; satisfaction=self-rated overall satisfaction with the program (7-point scale)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in COVID-19 vaccination intention	4 weeks	Self-reported intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine (7-point scale)
Change in COVID-19 vaccine confidence	4 weeks	Self-reported confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine (5-point scale)
Change in general vaccine confidence	4 weeks	Self-reported confidence in vaccines (7-point scale)
Change in intention to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine	4 weeks	Self-reported intention to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine (7-point scale)
Proportion of participants getting the COVID-19 vaccine	4 weeks	self-reported vaccination status
Change in vaccine hesitancy	4 weeks	Self-reported vaccine hesitancy (7-point scale

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

George Washington University; 🇺🇸 Washington, District of Columbia, United States