The main research results are presented below. The key terms used here are ‘willingness to be vaccinated’ and ‘participation in vaccination’. This means that a person intends and is willing to be vaccinated (willingness to be vaccinated) and whether a person has actually been vaccinated (participation in vaccination, also referred to as vaccine uptake).
Thinking and feeling
- More positive thoughts or feelings about vaccination are correlated to higher or lower willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination. Conversely, more negative thoughts or feelings about vaccination are correlated to lower willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
- Topics that people consider in making this choice include vaccine safety, benefits and effectiveness, disease risks, and confidence in the healthcare system and experts.
Social processes
- What people see as socially acceptable affects their willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
- Viewing vaccination as a social responsibility, knowing more about the vaccine or disease, information from official sources, and advice from a health worker are correlated to higher willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
- Certain cultural norms and beliefs, language and religion, insufficient knowledge, inaccurate information, information from non-official sources, and failure to receive advice from a health worker are correlated to lower willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
Ease of access
- The ease of access to vaccines involves various aspects. Examples: personal obstacles, affordability, or quality of the vaccination service.
- More accessible communication and fewer obstacles are correlated to higher willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
What people do
- Previous behaviour may also play a role: previous vaccinations and proactive behaviour (such as a recent visit to a care provider) are correlated to higher willingness to be vaccinated and participation in vaccination.
Demographic features
- The literature does not indicate any clear overall impression of demographic features.