Intra-Household Dynamics and Attitudes toward Vaccines : Experimental and Survey Evidence from Zambia
This paper explores how intra-household dynamics relate to attitudes toward vaccines in low- and lower-middle-income countries, by drawing on two novel data sources from Zambia. The first is a nationally representative, in-person survey of more tha...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099239408032215339/IDU00eb25fa7060d9046af09f400895c23d855f9 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37828 |
| Summary: | This paper explores how
intra-household dynamics relate to attitudes toward vaccines
in low- and lower-middle-income countries, by drawing on two
novel data sources from Zambia. The first is a nationally
representative, in-person survey of more than 10,000
households that asked all household members individually
about their willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The
second is a randomized survey experiment with almost 3,000
social media users that tested how the impact of information
about the benefits from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on
people’s willingness to get vaccinated varied based on
intra-household dynamics. Both data sources showed that
people’s willingness (unwillingness) to get a COVID-19
vaccine was very strongly associated with whether other
household members were also willing (unwilling). The
experiment found that respondents who received information
emphasizing either individual or household benefits from
getting a COVID-19 vaccine were around 20 percent more
willing to get vaccinated than those in the control group.
This information was more potent among respondents who
believed other members of their household would not get
vaccinated but did not have a larger impact on respondents
who were involved in household decision making. There was
also evidence of positive “second-round” effects whereby
respondents who received the information treatments were
more likely to encourage other household members to get a
COVID-19 vaccine. An important implication that flows from
this analysis is that although household members tend to
have similar attitudes toward vaccines, communicating
accurate information about the benefits of getting
vaccinated can counter intra-household dynamics that
undermine acceptance. |
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