Role of Video Versus Text Information in Willingness to be Vaccinated for Invasive Meningococcal Disease Among US Adolescents/Young Adults and Parents

OBJECTIVES: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a severe, potentially deadly bacterial infection with possible long-term sequelae despite appropriate treatment. IMD vaccine uptake is low among US adolescents; 60.8% and 11.9% of 17-year-olds received ≥2 doses of MenACWY and MenB vaccine, respectively, in 2022. Vaccine attributes and disease and vaccine information may influence willingness to be vaccinated (WTV). This study quantified the association between vaccine attributes and how vaccine and IMD information affect WTV among US adolescents/young people (AYPs) and parents/legal guardians (PLGs).

METHODS: A cross-sectional, online discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted between February−March 2023 among 16−22-year-olds and PLGs of 11−17-year-olds. Respondents were shown a series of experimentally designed pairs of hypothetical IMD vaccine profiles and asked which they would choose, with the option to decline vaccination. Vaccines differed in dosing, level of protection, and mild to moderate or severe risk of side effects. Before completing the DCE, respondents were randomized 1:1 to either video or text for conveying background information. An interactive correlated mixed logit model was used for data analysis, controlling for participant characteristics and background information type.

RESULTS: In total, 407 AYPs and 394 PLGs completed the DCE; mean age was 19.8 and 41.5 years, respectively. Vaccine attributes were less likely to affect WTV in participants with versus without vaccine hesitancy (36.4% vs 52.1%). Providing IMD and vaccination information by video significantly increased dosing importance (regimen change from 2 doses now/1 dose 6 months later to 1 dose now/1 dose 6 months later) compared with text-based information (p<0.05) The predicted probability of WTV increased +3.5% with video compared with text.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that AYPs and PLGs value vaccines for IMD with attributes including efficaciousness, safety, and convenience. Presenting information as video increased WTV, signifying the importance of communication approaches selected for public health initiatives.