Cal U. students study vaccine hesitancy, develop marketing campaign
Courtesy of California University of Pennsylvania
A group of California University of Pennsylvania students completed a fellowship exploring vaccine hesitancy and created an advertising campaign aimed at increasing vaccination rates among college-age students.
Courtesy of California University of Pennsylvania
One of several advertising campaign posters designed by a group of California University of Pennsylvania students to encourage college-aged students to get the COVID-19 vaccine
Courtesy of California University of Pennsylvania
A poster was designed by a four California University of Pennsylvania students who participated in a fellowship this summer to study vaccine hesitancy. The students developed an advertising campaign emphasizing community and encouraging young adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Four California University of Pennsylvania students have designed a marketing campaign to encourage college-age students to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The students – Divonne Franklin, Larry Wiles, Susan Mazanetz, and Yamna Boukaabar – took part in a 10-week summer fellowship that trained them in scientific communication regarding COVID-19, and on Tuesday they shared the results of their research on vaccine hesitancy.
Their aim was to determine the reasons why people are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and then to develop an effective marketing strategy to increase vaccination rates.
They also role-played talking compassionately with those who are vaccine-hesitant.
“What we can take away (from our research) is that community-driven initiatives are going to help drive vaccination rates,” said Franklin.
Under the direction of Dr. Michelle Valkanas, assistant professor of microbiology at Cal U., and Dr. Kate Carter, from the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Fla., the students investigated trends in vaccine rates across Pennsylvania, looking specifically at the five counties with the highest vaccination rates in July, and the five counties with the lowest vaccination rates.
Their research showed that in the five counties with the highest vaccination rates, community-based outreaches resulted in more people getting vaccinated.
“There was a whole community effort, like pharmacies, and hospitals pairing with churches to really get information about the vaccine and COVID-19 out there. It really helped people get vaccinated,” said Wiles. “We found the opposite on the bottom five counties. There really weren’t any events at all, other than the vaccination sites set up in counties.”
Other factors that drove increased vaccination rates were information availability and at-home vaccinations for elderly and disabled people.
“Advertising really worked. As soon as you logged on to the top five counties’ newspaper websites, county Facebook sites or town Facebook sites, you were immediately met with information about COVID-19 and the vaccine, and how it was safe and effective it is, and the opposite was true of the bottom five. You didn’t find or see information about COVID or the vaccine,” said Wiles.
One surprising finding, according to the group, is that in Pennsylvania, unlike other states, political affiliation did not seem to influence vaccination rates.
Franklin said she and her research team determined it’s important to emphasize community and inclusivity in advertising aimed at improving COVID-19 vaccination rates.
“Our favorite ads were community ads that show we’re all in this together, we all need each other,” she said. “I feel when you show genuine care for others, it will be a more positive impact … the main goal is to get more people included in ads. Throwing a lot of information at someone can turn someone way; it can be overwhelming.”
The ads – created to target college-age students – were designed to be relatable and light-hearted, and include some relevant information, such as that vaccines are safe and effective, and where they are available.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 52% of people ages 18 to 24 are fully vaccinated.
“And we need to look at people as people, and not as numbers, not just another unvaccinated person that we need to get vaccinated,” said Franklin. “We need to understand your audience, understand what they think, how they think, and understand what is influencing their specific hesitancies, and then from that we can make targeted approaches to communicate science and information.”
According to the CDC, 68.6% of Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the state ranks 19th in the United States in percentage of vaccines administered.