Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: Understanding the American Publics COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake

尽管公共卫生部门努力说服美国人接种COVID-19疫苗，但在美国，疫苗犹豫是实现群体免疫的威胁。不愿接种疫苗的美国人表示担心疫苗的开发及其潜在的副作用。对疫苗的看法也与政治党派关系有关，民意调查显示，至少有一半的共和党人不打算接种疫苗。公民如何理解和评估与COVID-19疫苗和COVID-19大流行相关的风险是这一大规模公共卫生干预措施取得成功的关键。通过两项全国性调查，本论文试图揭示疫苗犹豫的潜在因素。首先，它解决了公民如何比较COVID-19疫苗的风险与COVID-19大流行的风险，以及这种风险比较是否影响他们的疫苗接种意愿。其次，三个个体特征——暴露于COVID-19错误信息、政治意识形态和社会人口统计学——如何影响疫苗接种。这样一来，这项研究对社会科学研究和社会都有好处。COVID-19大流行和COVID-19疫苗为研究风险认知和风险比较如何影响风险缓解行为（如接种疫苗、保持社交距离、洗手、戴口罩）提供了及时的背景。在社会层面，本研究提供了基于证据的建议，以改善有关COVID-19疫苗接种的风险沟通信息。这项研究特别说明了如何制定与各行各业的公民产生共鸣的同情和明确的风险沟通信息，以鼓励接种疫苗并继续坚持针对COVID-19的预防行为。两项针对美国成年人的调查（各1000人）检验了假设和研究问题。在心理测量范式的指导下，本研究比较了两个相互关联的风险对象，并评估了心理风险比较如何影响风险缓解行为。这项研究有助于更精确地理解风险感知，在这个世界上，多种风险经常同时引起我们的注意，人们经常需要平衡每一种风险，以便做出明智的决定。研究结果也可以外推到未来的风险事件。此外，将暴露于COVID-19错误信息和政治意识形态将有助于迅速发展有关重要社会问题的错误信息和民意政治两极分化的文献。从本质上讲，这项研究可以挖掘宝贵的见解，以改善关于COVID-19疫苗的风险沟通，以提高吸收率。具体来说，这项研究提供了基于证据的建议，以改善专门针对少数民族和其他高危群体的沟通。教育公众保持警惕，直到我们作为一个国家实现广泛的疫苗覆盖，这对克服这场大流行至关重要；也就是说，公众继续采取预防行为的时间越长，这场大流行就会越早结束。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2)Despite public health effort to persuade Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitancy is a threat to achieve herd immunity in the U.S. Americans who are reluctant to get vaccinated cite worries about the development of the vaccines and their potential side effects. Vaccine views are also connected to political partisanship, with polls showing that at least half of Republicans do not plan to get the vaccine. How citizens comprehend and evaluate the risks associated with the COVID-19 vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic is key to the success of this mass public health intervention. Through two national surveys, this dissertation research attempts to uncover the factors underlying vaccine hesitancy. It addresses, first, how citizens compare the risks from the COVID-19 vaccines with the risks from the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this risk comparison influences their vaccination intention. Second, how three individual characteristics — exposure to COVID-19 misinformation, political ideology, and socio-demographics — influence vaccine uptake. In doing so, this research benefits both social science research and society. The COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccine offer a timely context to study how risk perception and risk comparison influence risk mitigation behaviors (e.g., vaccination, social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing). At the societal level, this research offers evidence-based recommendations to improve risk communication messaging about COVID-19 vaccine uptake. In particular, this research informs on how to craft empathetic and clear risk communication messaging that resonate with citizens from all walks of life to encourage vaccine uptake and continued adherence to preventive behaviors against COVID-19.Two surveys of American adults (N = 1000 each) test hypotheses and research questions. Guided by the psychometric paradigm), the research compares two interrelated risk objects and evaluates how a mental risk comparison influences risk mitigation behavior. This research contribute to a more refined understanding of risk perception in a world where multiple risks often simultaneously command our attention and people often have to balance each in order to make informed decisions. Findings from the research may also be extrapolated to future risk events. In addition, the inclusion of exposure to COVID-19 misinformation and political ideology will contribute to the rapidly developing literature on misinformation and political polarization in public opinion related to important social issues. In essence, this research can unearth invaluable insights to improve risk communication about the COVID-19 vaccines to improve uptake. Specifically, this research provides evidence-based recommendations to improve communication specifically targeting minorities and other high-risk groups. Educating the public to stay vigilant until we reach broad vaccine coverage as a nation is crucial to overcoming this pandemic; that is, the longer the public continues to practice preventive behaviors, the sooner it will be for this pandemic to end.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.