Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States
Objective: To examine the content of public service announcements (PSAs) sponsored by the United States federal government to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and reveal if PSAs included content that countered health skepticism. Methods: A content analysis of televised PSAs airing from December 15th, 20...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002323 |
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| author | Margaret E. Tait Erika Franklin Fowler Sarah E. Gollust |
| author_facet | Margaret E. Tait Erika Franklin Fowler Sarah E. Gollust |
| author_sort | Margaret E. Tait |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: To examine the content of public service announcements (PSAs) sponsored by the United States federal government to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and reveal if PSAs included content that countered health skepticism. Methods: A content analysis of televised PSAs airing from December 15th, 2020 through June 30th, 2021 in the U.S. was performed. Coders reviewed PSAs for the visual and audible appeals used to encourage vaccination, such as the opportunity vaccination provided for getting back to ‘normal’, as well as the spokespeople depicted. Messages that could mitigate health skepticism, such as content about safety and efficacy, were also coded for. Results: The first PSA aired in April of 2021, close to five months after the first person was vaccinated in the U.S. Less than 20 % (17.1 %) of PSAs explicitly encouraged vaccination and just over a quarter (25.4 %) provided details about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Health professionals were more commonly depicted as spokespeople in content, appearing in just under a third (29.4 %) of PSAs. Conclusions: Content that addressed and potentially reduced views of health skepticism and that may have promoted vaccine uptake, broadly, was largely absent from federally sponsored televised PSAs about the COVID-19 vaccine. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-003d3475815d4e3a842091887eba8528 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-003d3475815d4e3a842091887eba85282025-08-23T04:48:11ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552025-09-015710319310.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103193Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United StatesMargaret E. Tait0Erika Franklin Fowler1Sarah E. Gollust2University of Richmond, Department of Health Studies, 114 UR Drive, Richmond, VA 23173, United States of America; Corresponding author.Wesleyan University, Department of Government, 45 Wyllys Ave, Middletown, CT 06459, United States of America; Wesleyan Media Project, 45 Wyllys Ave, Middletown, CT 06459, United States of AmericaUniversity of Minnesota School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy and Management, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States of AmericaObjective: To examine the content of public service announcements (PSAs) sponsored by the United States federal government to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and reveal if PSAs included content that countered health skepticism. Methods: A content analysis of televised PSAs airing from December 15th, 2020 through June 30th, 2021 in the U.S. was performed. Coders reviewed PSAs for the visual and audible appeals used to encourage vaccination, such as the opportunity vaccination provided for getting back to ‘normal’, as well as the spokespeople depicted. Messages that could mitigate health skepticism, such as content about safety and efficacy, were also coded for. Results: The first PSA aired in April of 2021, close to five months after the first person was vaccinated in the U.S. Less than 20 % (17.1 %) of PSAs explicitly encouraged vaccination and just over a quarter (25.4 %) provided details about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Health professionals were more commonly depicted as spokespeople in content, appearing in just under a third (29.4 %) of PSAs. Conclusions: Content that addressed and potentially reduced views of health skepticism and that may have promoted vaccine uptake, broadly, was largely absent from federally sponsored televised PSAs about the COVID-19 vaccine.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002323Mass mediaHealth communicationHealth promotionHealth policyHealth equity |
| spellingShingle | Margaret E. Tait Erika Franklin Fowler Sarah E. Gollust Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States Preventive Medicine Reports Mass media Health communication Health promotion Health policy Health equity |
| title | Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States |
| title_full | Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States |
| title_short | Was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the COVID-19 vaccine? A content analysis of federally-sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against COVID-19 in the United States |
| title_sort | was health skepticism accounted for in communication about the covid 19 vaccine a content analysis of federally sponsored public service announcements about the vaccine to protect against covid 19 in the united states |
| topic | Mass media Health communication Health promotion Health policy Health equity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002323 |
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