April 18, 2024 – It seems it's not a Sisyphean task – or a minimum of not unattainable, like attempting to roll a big boulder up a steep hill over and another time. Some individuals with deeply held beliefs on a wide selection of health issues — from COVID vaccination to mental health stigma to food, including genetically modified organisms — could also be persuaded to reconsider their positions.
But the way you deliver the message is just as essential as what you say, latest evidence shows.
A standard public health message like “Get vaccinated. “It’s good for your health and the health of others” doesn’t normally make many individuals change their minds instantly. It might be a reason the CDC is reporting this only 23% of Americans has received the newest COVID booster shot.
In contrast, the indisputable fact that someone who had previously resisted the COVID vaccine was in a position to explain in their very own words why – and explain what caused them to vary their mind – in a study prompted some people to reconsider their attitude.
These weren’t individuals who were “on the fence” about getting the vaccine. Years into the COVID pandemic, unvaccinated people “probably have some pretty deeply held beliefs,” said lead researcher Jeff Conlin, PhD, an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication on the University of Kansas in Lawrence. “And we still saw success.”
These “two-sided conversion messages” help because people discover with the person with the unruly attitude first, Conlin said. Then they’re more open to learning why the person made the switch and got vaccinated. Authenticity also counts – it really works best when the tellers have experienced the story themselves.
Conlin and colleagues compared 384 unvaccinated adults who got either a conversion message or a one-sided story from someone who had all the time planned to get vaccinated. Given the conversion histories, the biggest decline in hesitancy occurred amongst probably the most vaccine-resistant individuals. The complete study was published online within the magazine in December 2023 Health communication.
And it's not nearly adopting latest ways of pondering, Conlin noted. These messages also help people “realize that their previous beliefs may have been misinformed or misguided.”
Conversion messages could also influence other widely held health beliefs. “We’re just starting to test conversion messages with mental health stigma,” Conlin said. The aim is to check the strategy using a really specific story about someone who previously opposed advice, treatment and support services because of hysteria or depression, for instance, and why they later modified their mind.
Another study examined how conversion messages influence attitudes toward one other controversial topic—genetically modified crops. In contrast to the study by Conlin and colleagues, these researchers found that the strength of the message was most vital. They concluded that stronger messages may lead to this more permanent changes within the settings. The study was published in April 2019 Public understanding of science Diary.
Give people a selection?
Simply giving people a selection of brand name of COVID vaccine could also increase acceptance, it says research results by researchers on the University of Oregon, published this month within the Journal of Applied Memory and Cognition Research.
“People enjoy choice,” said Ellen Peters, PhD, study writer and director of the Center for Science Communication Research on the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in Eugene. “People feel empowered when they have a choice, and therefore like the option they chose more than if they had no chance to make the decision themselves.”
In several studies, persons are more willing to get vaccinated against COVID if they might choose from Pfizer and Moderna, for instance, than in the event that they were assigned to one in all them, said Peters, who can also be a professor of psychology on the university.
“COVID presented an unusual situation for vaccines. “For the primary time, we had multiple brands of vaccines that folks could and were talking about,” she said. “I also think the tactic can always work when multiple options are available.” [such as] Tylenol versus Advil, different screening options for colon cancer or other cancers, or selecting between surgery and medicine.
Conlin added: “What we want to do is [study] Conversion reports for other diseases. That is the goal.”
Maybe combine strategies?
When asked for her opinion on Conlin's study and the two-sided messaging, Peters said, “It's a great idea to do testing on vaccines and I'm glad they did it.”
“It would be interesting to combine their approach with ours,” Peters continued. The tactic she studied worked each on individuals who had previously been vaccinated and were considering a booster, and on unvaccinated people.
“Could the combination of their approach and ours further increase the number of people who intend to be vaccinated, particularly among those who are vaccine hesitant?” she asked.