Motivational interviewing as an intervention for vaccine hesitancy amongst paediatric populations: a systematic review and an empirical study into psychological associations of vaccine hesitancy for seasonal influenza: psychological flexibility, 5c antecedents of vaccination, and conspiratorial beliefs

Jones, Angharad 2024. Motivational interviewing as an intervention for vaccine hesitancy amongst paediatric populations: a systematic review and an empirical study into psychological associations of vaccine hesitancy for seasonal influenza: psychological flexibility, 5c antecedents of vaccination, and conspiratorial beliefs. ClinPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a significant global health concern. A reduction in vaccination rates has led to certain diseases re-emerging, such as measles and whooping cough, as vaccine rates do not meet the World Health Organisation’s target to prevent the spread of disease. These diseases can cause significant morbidity and mortality; therefore, it is important to understand factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy, and to understand interventions that can support increase in vaccine uptake. The first paper is a systematic review that explores Motivational Interviewing as an intervention for vaccine hesitancy for paediatric and adolescent vaccinations. Motivational Interviewing is a communication intervention that helps people elicit their own motivations for behaviour change. Four databases were searched (Medline, Web of Science, CINHAL, & Scopus), and nine papers met the eligibility criteria. These interventions varied, with some taking place on maternity wards, and others taking place at primary care centres. These studies used vaccine data and outcome measures on vaccine hesitancy to assess the impact of Motivational Interviewing in this context. The review found Motivational Interviewing appears to be a promising intervention for vaccine hesitancy, however future studies could focus on working to a single protocol, as many studies were similar in design. Further research is needed to fully understand the effect of this intervention. The second paper is an empirical study into the psychological associations of vaccine hesitancy in relation to seasonal influenza. Uptake of the seasonal flu vaccination in the UK is below the 75% target, therefore it is important to understand psychological factors that may influence uptake, as this can then inform appropriate interventions. This study examined psychological flexibility, the 5C antecedents of vaccination, and conspiratorial beliefs in those eligible for a free flu vaccination in the UK. In total, 233 participants were included in the final data analysis. The study found that psychological flexibility has no association with vaccine hesitancy, or conspiratorial beliefs. Associations were found with the 5C antecedents of vaccination, and consistent with existing literature, associations were found between vaccine hesitancy and conspiratorial beliefs. Further research is needed in this area, with a focus on the operationalisation of vaccine hesitancy in relation to the seasonal flu vaccination. In addition, more research is needed into psychological flexibility and vaccine hesitancy as this study used a new measure of psychological flexibility.

Item Type:	Thesis (DClinPsy)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 October 2024
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2024 14:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/172663

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