Exploring the Effect of Video Interventions on Intentions for Continued COVID-19 Vaccination

Summary

While COVID-19 vaccine uptake has generally been high in Canada, with 83.4% of the total population having received the first two doses (i.e., primary series), additional "booster" uptake has been slower, especially among young adults aged 18-39. Throughout the pandemic, young adults have experienced less personal risk from COVID-19 infection and this has led to lower motivation to vaccinate when it is recommended. Achieving high rates of up-to-date vaccine coverage is important in this group to anticipate new variants and waves of infection and changes to recommendations which might include annual or seasonal vaccination. Three video interventions, intended to motivate Canadian young adults to adopt positive intentions toward continued COVID-19 vaccination, will be developed and tested: an informational comparison video, an altruistic video, and an individualistic video. Participants will be 3300 Canadian younger adults who will be randomly assigned to watch these videos. The first arm will only receive the informational video, the second arm the informational and altruistic videos, and the third arm the informational, altruistic, and individualistic videos. All participants will complete a brief online survey before and after viewing the assigned video(s). The goal of the study is to examine the efficacy of altruistic and individualistic messages, beyond informational messages, in increasing intentions for COVID-19 vaccination in this age group.

Conditions

• Vaccine Refusal
• COVID-19

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Informational Video

This video emphasizes that vaccination against COVID-19 continues to be important, highlights the importance of seeking accurate information, and provides statistics about the estimated number of lives saved by vaccination and reported adverse events following vaccination in Canada.

BEHAVIORAL

Altruistic Video

This video presents a vignette about a young adult woman who has many social interactions during her daily life. It shows that her decision to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination could help to protect those people she comes into contact with, who may be at greater risk from COVID-19 infection. Statistics are used to show that up to one-in-four people in Canada have underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, and to quantify the number of surgeries that were delayed by pandemic-related disruptions.

BEHAVIORAL

Individualistic Video

This video presents a vignette about a young adult man who is very health-conscious. He is unsure about staying up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination until he learns that COVID-19 infection can have serious and disruptive consequences even if someone is younger. Statistics are used to quantify the increased risk of severe symptoms in young adults who are not up-to-date on vaccination.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Zeev Rosberger, PhD · Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research of the Jewish General Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

39 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-06-06

Primary Completion

2023-08-01

Completion

2023-08-01

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations