As National Newspaper Week kicks off, a new article notes the critical role local news media can play in making sure more rural residents get a coronavirus vaccine when one becomes available.
Low compliance for the human papillomavirus vaccine, approved in 2006, prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study how they could cut through misinformation and better persuade Americans to get the shot. That research and the resulting public-information campaign can provide a blueprint for increasing coronavirus vaccine rates, Jillian Kramer reports for Undark.
Health-care providers are the most-trusted sources for vaccine information, and positive framing for messages is key, according to research. Xiaoli Nan, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Risk Communication, told Kramer that the most successful strategies rely on "trustworthy messengers, telling stories rather than using statistics."
Rural news media, which locals trust more than nationwide media, can play a role in getting out the word using the same tactics. That could make a difference in rural areas, which have overall lower vaccine compliance rates than metropolitan areas.
Among children, for example, rural and urban rates are similar for shots required for school entry. But rural areas have lower rates for voluntary immunizations for ailments such as the flu or HPV. The same is true of adults, and that's partly because of barriers such as language, transportation, and money, Kramer reports.
Such factors may help explain why rural Native Americans, who receive free health care through Indian Health Services, have a higher flu shot compliance rate (50% in the 2018-2019 flu season) than the general population (45.3% in the 2018-2019 flu season). Rural Hispanic residents, meanwhile, have some of the lowest flu vaccination rates in the nation at 31% for the same time period, according to the University of Minnesota's Rural Health Research Center.
A preliminary CDC vaccine rollout plan, published in mid-September, describes good communication as 'essential' to 'a successful covid-19 vaccination program,' and notes the agency will 'engage and use a wide range of partners, collaborations, and communication and news media channels,'" Kramer reports.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3lfBOHR Local news media could help boost rural coronavirus vaccine compliance with storytelling - Entrepreneur Generations
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