A social media microinfluencer intervention to reduce coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine hesitancy in underserved Tennessee communities: A protocol paper

Background Central to effective public health policy and practice is the trust between the population served and the governmental body leading health efforts, but that trust has eroded in the years preceding the pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy among adults is also a growing concern across the US. Recent data suggests that the trustworthiness of information about the COVID-19 vaccine was a larger concern than either vaccine side effects or risks. Objective This paper aims to describe the methods used to create a public health microinfluencer social media vaccine confidence campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine in underserved Tennessee communities. A secondary objective is to describe how the social ecological model and social cognitive theory may address vaccine hesitancy using community pharmacies. Methods In late 2020, 50 independent community pharmacies in underserved communities across Tennessee were involved in a public health project with the State of Tennessee Department of Health and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. The project involved a three-pronged, pharmacy-based COVID-19 vaccination outreach project, including: (a) social media messaging (i.e., microinfluencer approach), (b) community partner collaboration, and (c) in-pharmacy promotion. Quantitative and qualitative data will assess the quality and effectiveness of the program. Social media outcomes will also be assessed to measure the impact of the microinfluencer social media training. Results Project implementation is planned for six months (January 2021-June 2021), after an initial month of planning by the research team (December 2020) and preceding several months of assessment (July 2021 and beyond). Conclusions Novel, theory-based approaches will be necessary to improve vaccine confidence. One approach to promoting public health, derived from the Social Ecological Model, may be to use trusted microinfluencers on social media platforms, such as local community pharmacists and community leaders.