Health Communication to Influence COVID-19 Vaccination Intent and Message Propagation

NCT05244356 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: NMRR-21-26-58107
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 5,784
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is a randomised controlled experiment in the form of a web based survey study which randomly exposes participants to different forms of public health messages, after which participants will be assessed on their intent to take up the COVID-19 vaccine, recommend the vaccine, and also willingness to propagate the exposed message.

Conditions

COVID-19; Respiratory Disease; Vaccine Refusal; Infectious Disease; Coronavirus Infections; Behavior, Health; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Lung Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral

Keywords

message; messaging; propagation; intent; vaccine; recommend

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in intent to accept the COVID-19 vaccine amongst the Malaysian adult population.

  Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 4 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from '"Definitely no", "Not sure, but probably no", "Not sure, but probably yes"to Definitely yes".

  Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

• Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to healthy adults.

  Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".

  Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

• Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly.

  Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".

  Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

• Change in intent to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to people with existing health conditions.

  Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale. Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".

  Immediately before and after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

• Intent to share message on social media platform.

  Outcome measure was assessed using a questionnaire answered through a 5 point ordinal scale.Scale ranges from "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Not sure", "Agree", and "Strongly agree".

  Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Moderators of vaccination intent.

  Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

• Reliability of various information sources about COVID-19.

  Immediately after message exposure during questionnaire administration.

Study Arms (14)

Descriptive Norm (70%)

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing that about 70% of Malaysians have expressed acceptance for the COVID-19 vaccine. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Descriptive Norm

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing that the COVID-19 vaccine has been widely tested including with the elderly and people with existing health conditions, while subsequently highlighting that the vaccine was already received by millions worldwide. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Healthcare worker (HCW) recommendation

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content highlights recommendation from Malaysian healthcare workers to get the vaccine, since majority of them has already received it, including the Malaysian Health Director General 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Negative attribute framing

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing the rate of side effects occurring with COVID-19 vaccination in a negative frame. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Positive attribute framing

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing the rate of side effects occurring with COVID-19 vaccination in a positive frame. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Risky choice framing (Safety)

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing a risky choice frame which compares the death rates occurring with COVID-19 vaccination versus contracting the virus itself. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Risky choice framing (Side effects)

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention in the form of a message likened to a social media post. Composed of 3 parts: 1. Opening tag line highlighting the main concern that Malaysians have about the COVID-19 vaccine (safety and side effects) 2. Message content describing a risky choice frame that compares the incidence rates of blood clots occurring with COVID-19 vaccination versus contracting COVID-19. 3. Rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Control message

EXPERIMENTAL

Control message containing only rally slogan: "It's safe and effective!"

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Descriptive Norm

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + HCW recommendation

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Negative attribute framing

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Positive attribute framing

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Safety)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Side effects)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 2 messages which were exposed one at a time. Sequence of message appearing randomly rotated.

Behavioral: Health message exposure

Interventions

Health message exposure BEHAVIORAL

Participants exposed to a health message and requested to read it completely. Subsequently requested to answer post intervention questions that form basis for outcome measures.

Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Descriptive Norm; Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + HCW recommendation; Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Negative attribute framing; Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Positive attribute framing; Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Safety); Combination message: Descriptive Norm (70%) + Risky choice framing (Side effects); Control message; Descriptive Norm; Descriptive Norm (70%); Healthcare worker (HCW) recommendation; Negative attribute framing; Positive attribute framing; Risky choice framing (Safety); Risky choice framing (Side effects)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the trial
• Malaysian nationality.
• Can understand either the English or Malay language.
• Aged 18 years or above

You may not qualify if:

• Received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Clinical Research Centre, Malaysia: lead
• Institute for Health Behavioral Research, Malaysia: collaborator
• University of Malaya: collaborator
• UNICEF Malaysia: collaborator
• Ministry of Health, Malaysia: collaborator
• London School of Economics and Political Science: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Malaysia

Shah Alam, Selangor, 40170, Malaysia

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Hing NYL, Woon YL, Lee YK, Kim HJ, Lothfi NM, Wong E, Perialathan K, Ahmad Sanusi NH, Isa A, Leong CT, Costa-Font J. When do persuasive messages on vaccine safety steer COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and recommendations? Behavioural insights from a randomised controlled experiment in Malaysia. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Jul;7(7):e009250. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009250.

  PMID: 35906015 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

COVID-19; Respiration Disorders; Vaccination Refusal; Communicable Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Health Behavior; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Lung Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Treatment Refusal; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Behavior; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Yee Liang Hing, MSc.

  Clinical Research Centre, Malaysia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Researcher, Principle Investigator, Pharmacist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2022
• First Posted: February 17, 2022
• Study Start: April 29, 2021
• Primary Completion: June 7, 2021
• Study Completion: June 7, 2021
• Last Updated: February 17, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

MY (1)