ArticleHealth research policy and systems2021
Social media, vaccine hesitancy and trust deficit in immunization programs: a qualitative enquiry in Malappuram District of Kerala, India.
Article in Health research policy and systems, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors influencing vaccine hesitancy toward non-covid vaccines in South Asia: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Vaccine hesitancy and attitudes toward newborn heel-prick screening among religious officials: A mixed-methods study, Erzurum, Türkiye.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
- What makes embedded implementation research work? A multicountry synthesis of UNICEF-supported initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Impact of socio-economic and political factors on global COVID-19 vaccine coverage: an empirical study.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Article
- Article
- Investigating how homeopaths and chiropractors navigate patient requests for vaccination information in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- A Greek Nationwide Survey About Sources of Information on Seasonal Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccination Used by Healthcare Facility Staff During the Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Perceptions of respiratory tract infections and their implications for disease prevention practices among older adults in Mysuru, India.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Understanding herpes zoster vaccine hesitancy and information asymmetry: a qualitative study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- [Evaluation of the scenario of hesitancy in vaccines against seasonal influenza among public school teachers in Teresina, Piauí State, Brazil, in COVID-19 times].Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Article
- The Impact of Social Media on Vaccination: A Narrative Review.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023Review
- Impact of social media news on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccination behavior.Telematics and informatics · 2023Article
- Facilitators of and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in Grenada: a qualitative study.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2023Article
- Worldwide vaccine inequality threatens to unleash the next COVID-19 variant.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Article
- Promoting Vaccination in India through Videos: The Role of Humor, Collectivistic Appeal and Gender.Vaccines · 2022Article
- Risk communication and community engagement during COVID-19.International journal of disaster risk reduction : IJDRR · 2022Article
- Creation, dissemination, and evaluation of videos to promote COVID-19 vaccination in India: A research protocol.Gates open research · 2022Article
- Trends, barriers and enablers to measles immunisation coverage in Saskatchewan, Canada: A mixed methods study.PloS one · 2022Article
- Cross-cutting lessons from the Decision-Maker Led Implementation Research initiative.Health research policy and systems · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith increased penetration of the internet and social media, there are concerns regarding its negative role in influencing parents' decisions regarding vaccination for their children. It is perceived that a mix of religious reasons and propaganda by anti-vaccination groups on social media are lowering the vaccination coverage in Malappuram district of Kerala. We undertook a qualitative study to understand the factors responsible for generating and perpetuating vaccine hesitancy, the pathways of trust deficit in immunization programs and the interaction between various social media actors.
methodsIn-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among parents/caregivers, physicians, public sector health staff, alternative system medical practitioners, field healthcare workers and teachers in areas with highest and lowest vaccination coverage in the district, as well as with communication experts.
resultsThe trust deficit between parents/caregivers and healthcare providers is created by multiple factors, such as providers' lack of technical knowledge, existing patriarchal societal norms and critical views of vaccine by naturopaths and homeopaths. Anti-vaccine groups use social media to influence caregivers' perceptions and beliefs. Religion does not appear to play a major role in creating vaccine resistance in this setting.
conclusionsA long-term, multipronged strategy should be adopted to address the trust deficit. In the short to medium term, the health sector can focus on appropriate and targeted vaccine-related communication strategies, including the use of infographics, soft skills training for healthcare workers, technical competency improvement through a mobile application-based repository of information and creation of a media cell to monitor vaccine-related conversations in social media and to intervene if needed.
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