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Communication strategies to contrast anti-vax action: a differential game approach

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandra Buratto

    (Università degli Studi di Padova)

  • Rudy Cesaretto

    (Università degli Studi di Padova)

  • Maddalena Muttoni

    (Università degli Studi di Padova)

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the greatest discoveries of modern medicine, capable of defeating many diseases. However, misleading information on the effectiveness of vaccines has caused a decline in vaccination coverage in some countries, leading to the reappearance of related diseases. Therefore, a proper and well-planned pro-vax communication campaign may be effective in convincing people to get vaccinated. We formulate and solve a differential game with an infinite horizon played à la Nash. The players involved in the game are the national healthcare system and a pharmaceutical firm that produces and sells a certain type of vaccine. The former aims to minimize the healthcare costs that unvaccinated people would entail. In turn, the pharmaceutical firm wants to minimize the missed profits from unsold vaccines. The two players run suitable vaccination advertising campaigns to diminish the à-régime number of unvaccinated. The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman approach is used to determine a Markovian-Nash equilibrium, studying how communication strategies can be effective in reducing the strength of anti-vax word of mouth.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandra Buratto & Rudy Cesaretto & Maddalena Muttoni, 2025. "Communication strategies to contrast anti-vax action: a differential game approach," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 33(1), pages 191-210, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:cejnor:v:33:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10100-024-00917-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10100-024-00917-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fouad El Ouardighi & Gustav Feichtinger & Dieter Grass & Richard F. Hartl & Peter M. Kort, 2016. "Advertising and Quality-Dependent Word-of-Mouth in a Contagion Sales Model," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 323-342, July.
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