IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/hecrev/v14y2024i1d10.1186_s13561-024-00484-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Timing of preventive behavior in the case of a new and evolving health risk: the case of COVID-19 vaccination

Author

Listed:
  • Deeksha Gupta

    (University of South Carolina)

  • Caroline Rudisill

    (University of South Carolina)

Abstract

Background Time preferences for preventive behavior under novel risks and uncertain contexts may differ from timing preferences related to familiar risks. Therefore, it is crucial to examine drivers of preventative health behavior timing in light of new health risks. Using the case of COVID-19, we examine factors affecting vaccination timing plans when vaccines were widely available in the European Union (EU). Methods We use data from the Flash Eurobarometer 494 survey (May 21–26, 2021), which collected information on EU residents’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccinations. We also use the ‘Our World in Data’ vaccination database for country-level COVID-19 vaccination rates. Probit regressions were conducted to determine how local vaccination rates, trust in information sources, social norms, vaccine safety beliefs, and risk understanding affected the probability of COVID-19 vaccination delay. Results Of total participants (n = 26,106), 9,063 (34.7%) were vaccinated, 7,114 (27.3%) wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible, 5,168 (19.8%) wanted to delay vaccination and 2,962 (11.4%) resisted vaccination. Participants were more likely to delay COVID-19 vaccination if they lived in a country with lower vaccination prevalence, trusted online social networks, family, friends, and colleagues for vaccination information, were eager to follow vaccination-related social norms, expressed vaccine safety concerns, and understood the risk of catching COVID-19 without a vaccine to be lower. Conclusions Results from the study contribute to understanding important factors that predict timing of vaccination plans. These findings can also contribute to the wider knowledge base about timing of preventive behavior uptake in novel risk contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Deeksha Gupta & Caroline Rudisill, 2024. "Timing of preventive behavior in the case of a new and evolving health risk: the case of COVID-19 vaccination," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:hecrev:v:14:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s13561-024-00484-9
    DOI: 10.1186/s13561-024-00484-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s13561-024-00484-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s13561-024-00484-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cornelia Betsch & Corina Ulshöfer & Frank Renkewitz & Tilmann Betsch, 2011. "The Influence of Narrative v. Statistical Information on Perceiving Vaccination Risks," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 31(5), pages 742-753, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eger, Jens & Kaplan, Lennart & Sternberg, Henrike, 2022. "How to reduce vaccination hesitancy? The relevance of evidence and its communicator," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 433, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    2. Freling, Traci H. & Yang, Zhiyong & Saini, Ritesh & Itani, Omar S. & Rashad Abualsamh, Ryan, 2020. "When poignant stories outweigh cold hard facts: A meta-analysis of the anecdotal bias," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 51-67.
    3. Cornelia Betsch & Niels Haase & Frank Renkewitz & Philipp Schmid, 2015. "The narrative bias revisited: What drives the biasing influence of narrative information on risk perceptions?," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 10(3), pages 241-264, May.
    4. repec:cup:judgdm:v:10:y:2015:i:3:p:241-264 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Hutchings, Siobhan, 2024. "Individuals perceptions of electric vehicles and related policy : Findings from an online experiment," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 74, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    6. Claudio Deiana & Andrea Geraci & Gianluca Mazzarella & Fabio Sabatini, 2022. "Perceived risk and vaccine hesitancy: Quasi‐experimental evidence from Italy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(6), pages 1266-1275, June.
    7. Zhan Xu, 2019. "Personal stories matter: topic evolution and popularity among pro- and anti-vaccine online articles," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 207-220, July.
    8. Pieter Vanhuysse & Michael Jankowski & Markus Tepe, 2021. "Vaccine alliance building blocks: a conjoint experiment on popular support for international COVID-19 cooperation formats," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(3), pages 493-506, September.
    9. Alden, Dana L. & Friend, John & Schapira, Marilyn & Stiggelbout, Anne, 2014. "Cultural targeting and tailoring of shared decision making technology: A theoretical framework for improving the effectiveness of patient decision aids in culturally diverse groups," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-8.
    10. Victoria A. Shaffer & Suzanne Brodney & Teresa Gavaruzzi & Yaara Zisman-Ilani & Sarah Munro & Sian K. Smith & Elizabeth Thomas & Katherine D. Valentine & Hilary L. Bekker, 2021. "Do Personal Stories Make Patient Decision Aids More Effective? An Update from the International Patient Decision Aids Standards," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 41(7), pages 897-906, October.
    11. Yang Yang & Jill E. Hobbs, 2020. "The Power of Stories: Narratives and Information Framing Effects in Science Communication," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(4), pages 1271-1296, August.
    12. Malik, Amyn A. & Ahmed, Noureen & Shafiq, Mehr & Elharake, Jad A. & James, Erin & Nyhan, Kate & Paintsil, Elliott & Melchinger, Hannah Camille & Team, Yale Behavioral Interventions & Malik, Fauzia A. , 2023. "Behavioral interventions for vaccination uptake: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. Niels Haase & Frank Renkewitz & Cornelia Betsch, 2013. "The Measurement of Subjective Probability: Evaluating the Sensitivity and Accuracy of Various Scales," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(10), pages 1812-1828, October.
    14. Kunihiro Miyazaki & Takayuki Uchiba & Kenji Tanaka & Kazutoshi Sasahara, 2022. "Aggressive behaviour of anti-vaxxers and their toxic replies in English and Japanese," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:hecrev:v:14:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s13561-024-00484-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/13561 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.