Synergizing Psychotherapeutic and Behavioural Economic Techniques to Improve the Motivational Impact of Public Health Messaging in Ireland

Communication experts continue to debate what messaging strategies are best for motivating prosocial behaviour for the public health and safety of Irish society. This is especially important presently as we battle the prevalence of Covid-19. Reluctance to get vaccinated is currently reported highest among those aged 25-34, with one in 10 young adults in Ireland saying they will refuse the Covid-19 jab. Vaccine hesitancy is a perennial issue and in 2019, vaccine hesitancy was listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the top 10 global health threats. Vaccine hesitancy is currently considered one of the greatest threats to public health in Ireland. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy vary but are distinguishable from those who take an anti-vaxx stance and take part in the anti-vaxx movement. Anti-vaxxers oppose vaccines due to their belief that vaccines are an infringement on human rights. Vaccine hesitancy arises from differing philosophical viewpoints, the influence of conflicting news sources, poor education, religious beliefs, and legions of varying contextual influences. We aim to explore the various motives of young adults in Ireland (aged 18-35) surrounding current and past Covid-19 guideline adherence, vaccine hesitancy, and responses to the Irish government’s public health messaging. A series of semi-structured interviews will aim to explore participants’ personal values and social identities in relation to vaccination and adherence to public health guidelines more broadly. Particular emphasis will be placed upon articulating participants’ perceptions of gains versus losses, social inclusion versus exclusion, and fairness versus unfairness; and how these perceptions may vary by context. Along those lines, we will discuss a vignette with the participants that characterize common pro- and hesitant/anti-vaccine scenarios already identified in the literature. We will also encourage participants to generate additional scenarios that are particularly emblematic of their experiences. We will perform thematic analyses throughout data collection and it will be informed by behavioural economic theory and evidence-based psychotherapeutic techniques relevant to ambivalence (e.g. Motivational Interviewing; Acceptance & Commitment Therapy). These analyses will characterize the most important motivational factors encouraging and discouraging young adults with respect to COVID-19 vaccination, and adhering to Irish COVID-19 guidelines more broadly. These findings will inform the design of an intervention study to be conducted at a later date with a different set of participants.