Vaccine uptake is influenced by a variety of factors. Behavioral Insights (BI) can be used to address vaccine hesitancy to understand the factors that influence the decision to take or refuse a ...vaccine. This two-part study consisted of a survey designed to identify the influence of various drivers of people's COVID-19 vaccination status and their intention to take the vaccine in Ghana, as well as an experiment to test which of several behaviorally informed message frames had the greatest effect on vaccine acceptance. Data was collected from a total of 1494 participants; 1089 respondents (73%) reported already being vaccinated and 405 respondents (27%) reported not being vaccinated yet. The mobile phone-based surveys were conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 using Random Digit Dialing (RDD) to recruit study participants. Data analysis included regression models, relative weights analyses, and ANOVAs. The findings indicated that vaccine uptake in Ghana is influenced more by social factors (what others think) than by practical factors such as ease of vaccination. Respondents' perceptions of their family's and religious leaders' attitudes towards the vaccine were among the most influential drivers. Unexpectedly, healthcare providers' positive attitudes about the COVID-19 vaccine had a significant negative relationship with respondents' vaccination behavior. Vaccine intention was positively predicted by risk perception, ease of vaccination, and the degree to which respondents considered the vaccine effective. Perceptions of religious leaders' attitudes also significantly and positively predicted respondents' intention to get vaccinated. Although perceptions of religious leaders' views about the vaccine are an important driver of vaccine acceptance, results asking respondents to rank-order who influences them suggest that people may not be consciously aware-or do not want to admit-the degree to which they are affected by what religious leaders think. Message frames that included fear, altruism, social norms were all followed by positive responses toward the vaccine, as were messages with three distinct messengers: Ghana Health Services, a doctor, and religious leaders. What drives COVID-19 vaccine intentions does not necessarily drive behaviors. The results of this study can be used to develop appropriate COVID-19 vaccine uptake strategies targeting the most important drivers of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, using effective message frames.
More remains unknown than known about how to optimize multiple health behaviour change.
After reviewing the prevalence and comorbidities among major chronic disease risk behaviours for adults and ...youth, we consider the origins and applicability of high-risk and population strategies to foster multiple health behaviour change.
Findings indicate that health risk behaviours are prevalent, increase with age and co-occur as risk behaviour clusters or bundles.
We conclude that both population and high-risk strategies for health behaviour intervention are warranted, potentially synergistic and need intervention design that accounts for substitute and complementary relationships among bundled health behaviours. To maximize positive public health impact, a pressing need exists for bodies of basic and translational science that explain health behaviour bundling. Also needed is applied science that elucidates the following: (1) the optimal number of behaviours to intervene upon; (2) how target behaviours are best selected (e.g. greatest health impact; patient preference or positive effect on bundled behaviours); (3) whether to increase healthy or decrease unhealthy behaviours; (4) whether to intervene on health behaviours simultaneously or sequentially and (5) how to achieve positive synergies across individual-, group- and population-level intervention approaches.
Research has highlighted the importance of peers for determining health behaviors in adolescents, yet these behaviors have typically been investigated in isolation. We need to understand common ...network processes operating across health behaviors collectively, in order to discern how social network processes impact health behaviors. Thus, this systematic review of studies investigated adolescent peer social networks and health behaviors. A search of six databases (CINAHL, Education Resources Information Centre, Embase, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Medline and PsycINFO) identified 55 eligible studies. The mean age of the participants was 15.1 years (range 13–18; 51.1% female). Study samples ranged from 143 to 20,745 participants. Studies investigated drinking (31%), smoking (22%), both drinking and smoking (13%) substance use (18%), physical activity (9%) and diet or weight management (7%). Study design was largely longitudinal (n = 41, 73%) and cross-sectional (n = 14, 25%). All studies were set in school and all but one study focused on school-based friendship networks. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess risk of bias: studies were assessed as good (51%), fair (16%) or poor (33%). The synthesis of results revolved around two network behavior patterns: 1) health behavior similarity within a social network, driven by homophilic social selection and/or social influence, and 2) popularity: health behavior engagement in relation to changes in social status; or network popularity predicting health behaviors. Adolescents in denser networks had statistically significant lower levels of harmful behavior (n = 2/2, 100%). Findings suggest that social network processes are important factors in adolescent health behaviors.
•Adolescent peer social networks are important for health behavior choices.•Health behavior similarity may be driven by homophilic social selection and/or social influence.•Associations between health behaviors and popularity may be driven by behavior engagement or social status.•Mixed study quality calls for standard methodology for reporting of social network studies.
Background: Body shape concern (BSC; preoccupation with body shape) has been linked to variable weight loss in standard behavioral weight loss treatment (SBT) and degree of BSC may impact response to ...weight loss programs modified to enhance treatment outcomes. This secondary analysis examined the association of BSC with weight loss among women in a pilot study randomly assigned to 12-week Internet-delivered SBT, SBT modified to focus on negative consequences of unhealthy behaviors (PREVENT), or SBT modified to focus on positive consequences of healthy behaviors (PROMOTE). Methods: Women (n=82, 80% WHITE; BMI=33.3, SD=5.0) completed the Body Shape Questionnaire before randomization and were categorized based on established BSC clinical cutoffs (No BSC (20%), Low BSC (33%), Moderate BSC (32%), or High BSC (15%)). Percent weight loss (PWL) was calculated from baseline to 12-week (baseline carried forward). Due to the small sample descriptive analysis was used to evaluate mean values for PWL for each of the BSC levels by treatment conditions. Results: Women with No BSC had greater weight loss in PREVENT (-6.7%) than in SBT (-2.5%) or PROMOTE(-4.5%), as did those with Low BSC (PREVENT: -4.9% SBT:-2.8% PROMOTE: -2.9%) or Moderate BSC (PREVENT: -6.7%, SBT=-4.3% PROMOTE=-3.9%). However, women with High BSC did not experience enhanced weight loss in any of the conditions (PREVENT: -3.7%, SBT: -3.2%, PROMOTE: -3.9%). Conclusions: SBT modified to focus on the negative consequences of unhealthy behaviors (PREVENT) was associated with greater weight loss for women with No, Low, or Moderate BSC; with average PWL in PREVENT that approached or exceeded 5% which is widely accepted as clinically significant change. Women with High BSC did not exhibit improved PWL or reach the 5% clinical target in any condition. Consistent with precision medicine, BSC may have implications for treatment matching in SBT programs that have been modified to enhance the saliency of positive or negative effects of health behaviors.
Summary
In the coronavirus “infodemic,” people are exposed to official recommendations but also to potentially dangerous pseudoscientific advice claimed to protect against COVID‐19. We examined ...whether irrational beliefs predict adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines as well as susceptibility to such misinformation. Irrational beliefs were indexed by belief in COVID‐19 conspiracy theories, COVID‐19 knowledge overestimation, type I error cognitive biases, and cognitive intuition. Participants (N = 407) reported (1) how often they followed guidelines (e.g., handwashing, physical distancing), (2) how often they engaged in pseudoscientific practices (e.g., consuming garlic, colloidal silver), and (3) their intention to receive a COVID‐19 vaccine. Conspiratorial beliefs predicted all three outcomes in line with our expectations. Cognitive intuition and knowledge overestimation predicted lesser adherence to guidelines, while cognitive biases predicted greater adherence, but also greater use of pseudoscientific practices. Our results suggest an important relation between irrational beliefs and health behaviors, with conspiracy theories being the most detrimental.
Background Following the emergency approval of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, research into its vaccination hesitancy saw a substantial increase. However, the psychological ...behaviors associated with this hesitancy are still not completely understood. This study assessed the psychological antecedents associated with COVID-19 vaccination in the Arab population. Methodology The validated Arabic version of the 5C questionnaire was distributed online across various social media platforms in Arabic-speaking countries. The questionnaire had three sections, namely, socio-demographics, COVID-19 related infection and vaccination, and the 5C scale of vaccine psychological antecedents of confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility. Results In total, 4,474 participants with a mean age of 32.48 ± 10.76 from 13 Arab countries made up the final sample, 40.8% of whom were male. Around 26.7% of the participants were found to be confident about the COVID-19 vaccination, 10.7% indicated complacency, 96.5% indicated they had no constraints, 48.8% had a preference for calculation and 40.4% indicated they had collective responsibility. The 5C antecedents varied across the studied countries with the confidence and collective responsibility being the highest in the United Arab Emirates (59.0% and 58.0%, respectively), complacency and constraints in Morocco (21.0% and 7.0%, respectively) and calculation in Sudan (60.0%). The regression analyses revealed that sex, age, educational degrees, being a health care professional, history of COVID-19 infection and having a relative infected or died from COVID-19 significantly predicted the 5C psychological antecedents by different degrees. Conclusion There are wide psychological antecedent variations between Arab countries, and different determinants can have a profound effect on the COVID-19 vaccine's psychological antecedents.
Background: The transition from adolescence to adulthood is widely assumed to be a critical window for laying a foundation for healthful behavior patterns, yet few studies have empirically tested ...whether behaviors in this life stage track with later adult outcomes. Methods: From 1998-2007, incoming undergraduates (n = 4,641) at a northeast US university completed baseline health surveys prior to matriculation. A 2018 survey assessed self-reported weight 11-21 years later among the same individuals as adult alumni. Latent class analysis was used to identify baseline classes of health behaviors including diet (fruit, vegetables, dairy, red meat), physical activity, TV time, sleep, and supplement use. Analysis of covariance was used to test for differences in mean change in body weight and BMI from pre-college age to later adulthood by baseline latent class, controlling for baseline weight/BMI, sex, smoking, race-ethnicity, and time. Results: Complete baseline and alumni survey data were obtained for 23% (n = 1052) of the original cohort, with the following baseline characteristics: mean age 18 (0.50) years, 62% female, 76% white, and 81% with normal weight. Baseline latent classes were defined as healthful (27% of the sample), moderately healthful (49%), and unhealthful (25%). There were statistically significant differences in mean baselineto-adulthood weight change by baseline latent class (p = 0.03), with the healthful group having less gain in body weight (4.3 7.3 kg) compared with the moderately healthful (6.1 8.5 kg) and unhealthful (6.5 9.1 kg) groups, after adjustment for covariates. There were similar differences in BMI change, with smaller mean increases in the healthful group (1.4 2.5 kg/m2) compared with the moderately healthful (2.0 2.9 kg/m2) and unhealthful (2.1 3.1 kg/m2) groups (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Behavioral patterns prior to college enrollment have implications for weight-related outcomes 11-21 years later. Intervening early in life is critical to long-term health.
This study investigates the possible association between social media usage and the mental health toll from the coronavirus at the peak of Wuhan's COVID-19 outbreak. Informed by the Crisis and ...Emergency Risk Communication Model and Health Belief Model, it proposes a conceptual model to study how people in Wuhan – the first epicenter of the global COVID-19 pandemic – used social media and its effects on users' mental health conditions and health behavior change. The results show that social media usage was related to both depression and secondary trauma, which also predicted health behavior change. But no relation was detected between health behavior change and mental health conditions. As the virus struck, social media usage was rewarding to Wuhan people who gained informational, emotional, and peer support from the health information shared on social media. An excessive use of social media, however, led to mental health issues. The results imply that taking a social media break may promote well-being during the pandemic, which is crucial to mitigating mental health harm inflicted by the pandemic.
•This study reveals mental health toll at the peak of Wuhan's COVID-19 outbreak.•Social media usage predicted both depression and secondary trauma in Wuhan residents.•Social media usage predicted health behavior change during the public health crisis.•Social media usage offered users vital informational, emotional, and peer support.•Social media are not the culprit for mental health issues detected in the pandemic.
We study partisan differences in Americans' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Political leaders and media outlets on the right and left have sent divergent messages about the severity of the crisis, ...which could impact the extent to which Republicans and Democrats engage in social distancing and other efforts to reduce disease transmission. We develop a simple model of a pandemic response with heterogeneous agents that clarifies the causes and consequences of heterogeneous responses. We use location data from a large sample of smartphones to show that areas with more Republicans engaged in less social distancing, controlling for other factors including public policies, population density, and local COVID cases and deaths. We then present new survey evidence of significant gaps at the individual level between Republicans and Democrats in self-reported social distancing, beliefs about personal COVID risk, and beliefs about the future severity of the pandemic.
PDF
