The Impact of a Web-based Psychoeducation Programme with a Motivational AI Chatbot on Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

NCT05531058 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: P0039051
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 168
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Vaccine hesitancy is defined as 'delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines, despite the availability of vaccine service' and was named one of the top ten global health threats by the World Health Organization in 2019. Our proposed study will aim to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based psychoeducation programme to address Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, 'AI-driven Vaccine Communicator' (including educational materials, animations of vaccine research and development, and an MI communication skills-based AI, digital assistant). Our goal is to standardise our intervention so that it can serve as an effective toolkit for clinicians/healthcare providers to increase Hong Kong residents' motivation to vaccinate and to ensure that the programme can be adapted to viral mutations and newly developed vaccines in the medium/long term.

Conditions

Vaccine Hesitancy; COVID-19

Keywords

Vaccine Hesitancy; COVID-19; Motivational Intervention; AI Chatbot; Artificial Intelligence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Vaccine hesitancy at pre-test

  Vaccine hesitancy measured by Adult Vaccine Hesitancy scale and a single question 'plan for next dose'

  Vaccine hesitancy will be assessed at pre-intervention.

• Vaccine hesitancy at post-intervention

  Vaccine hesitancy measured by Adult Vaccine Hesitancy scale and a single question 'plan for next dose'

  Vaccine hesitancy will be assessed five weeks post the commencement of the intervention (at post-intervention).

• Vaccine hesitancy at three months follow-up

  Vaccine hesitancy measured by Adult Vaccine Hesitancy scale and a single question 'plan for next dose'

  Vaccine hesitancy will be assessed after three months follow-up.

• Vaccine hesitancy at six months follow-up

  Vaccine hesitancy measured by Adult Vaccine Hesitancy scale and a single question 'plan for next dose'

  Vaccine hesitancy will be assessed after six months follow-up.

Secondary Outcomes (16)

• Vaccine confidence at pre-test

  Vaccine confidence will be assessed at pre-intervention.

• Vaccine confidence at post-intervention

  Vaccine confidence will be assessed five weeks post the commencement of the intervention (at post-intervention).

• Vaccine confidence at three months follow-up

  Vaccine confidence will be assessed after three months follow-up.

• Vaccine confidence at six months follow-up

  Vaccine confidence will be assessed after six months follow-up.

• Vaccine readiness at pre-test

  Vaccine readiness will be assessed at pre-intervention.

Study Arms (2)

AI-driven vaccine communicator intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention will include five modules web-based psychoeducation programme (two modules sessions weekly, each module lasts for 15-20 minutes) which includes educational materials, animations of vaccine research and development, and an MI communication skills-based AI, digital assistant.

Behavioral: AI-driven Vaccine Communicator

Self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in the control group will be given HK government websites in COVID-19 vaccine and invite to join the online examination in relation to Covid-19 vaccine knowledge.

Behavioral: Self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge

Interventions

AI-driven Vaccine Communicator BEHAVIORAL

The intervention will include five modules web-based psychoeducation programme (two module sessions weekly, each module lasts for 15-20 minutes) and interact with an MI communication skills-based AI, digital assistant.

AI-driven vaccine communicator intervention group

Self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the control group will be given HK government websites in COVID-19 vaccine and invite to join the online examination in relation to Covid-19 vaccine knowledge (using multiple choices questions similar to the intervention group), and this is to ensure that participants from the control group also use time to search relevant information of covid-19 vaccines, also this is to control the time effects.

Self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge control group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• years or above;
• Hong Kong residents;
• Show vaccine hesitancy (not taking COVID-19 vaccines or receiving involuntary COVID-19 vaccines);
• have internet access
• able to read Chinese or English. Recruitment involved social media promotion and collaborating with community organizations

You may not qualify if:

• People with self-reported cognitive impairments or mental disorders that might interfere with their understanding of the intervention content;
• People who currently engaged in another clinical trial in relation to Covid-19 vaccines.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Unviersity

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Jarrett C, Wilson R, O'Leary M, Eckersberger E, Larson HJ; SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. Strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy - A systematic review. Vaccine. 2015 Aug 14;33(34):4180-90. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.04.040. Epub 2015 Apr 18.

  PMID: 25896377 BACKGROUND

• MacDonald NE; SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants. Vaccine. 2015 Aug 14;33(34):4161-4. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.04.036. Epub 2015 Apr 17.

  PMID: 25896383 BACKGROUND

• Taylor S, Landry CA, Paluszek MM, Groenewoud R, Rachor GS, Asmundson GJG. A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2. Front Psychol. 2020 Oct 19;11:575950. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575950. eCollection 2020.

  PMID: 33192883 BACKGROUND

• Gagneur A, Lemaitre T, Gosselin V, Farrands A, Carrier N, Petit G, Valiquette L, De Wals P. A postpartum vaccination promotion intervention using motivational interviewing techniques improves short-term vaccine coverage: PromoVac study. BMC Public Health. 2018 Jun 28;18(1):811. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5724-y.

  PMID: 29954370 BACKGROUND

• Leung SF, Ma J, Russell J. Enhancing motivation to change in eating disorders with an online self-help program. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2013 Aug;22(4):329-39. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2012.00870.x. Epub 2012 Aug 6.

  PMID: 22882349 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Vaccination Hesitancy; COVID-19

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Vaccination Refusal; Treatment Refusal; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Behavior; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Study Officials

• Yan Li, Dr

  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: We aim to have two study group, including the AI-driven vaccine communicator intervention group and the self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge control group.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 28, 2022
• First Posted: September 7, 2022
• Study Start: October 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2024
• Study Completion: June 1, 2024
• Last Updated: March 11, 2025

Record last verified: 2022-08

Locations

HK (1)