An Oscillatory Path to Vaccination: The Roles of Normative and Epistemic Factors in Explaining Vaccination Hesitancy in COVID-19.

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Health Communication

Publication Date

3-31-2022

Abstract

This study examined the roles of normative and epistemic factors in influencing individuals' reluctance to be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals' ethical orientations (IEO; teleology vs. deontology) were introduced as normative characteristics, while COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccine knowledge were addressed as issue-specific epistemic factors. We conducted two online surveys to investigate each of these three factors' influences on the level of Americans' reluctance to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Combinations of these factors that predict COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy levels were also explored to provide integrated perspectives in the specific vaccination context. Our findings demonstrated the positive association between IEO and reluctance to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Significant interactions between 1) COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs and IEO and 2) conspiracy beliefs and vaccine knowledge were also identified. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future study were addressed.

ISSN

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

First Page

1

Last Page

11

Disciplines

Communication | Medicine and Health Sciences

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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