KEY POINTS
* College students face elevated risk for seasonal flu because they often live in close quarters where infectious disease can easily spread.* College students who perceived support for flu vaccination from spouses, parents and friends were also more likely to perceive the vaccine as safe and to intend to be vaccinated.* Future influenza vaccine promotions on college campuses should target information at parents as well as students.
By Laura Kennedy, Contributing WriterResearch Source: Journal of Adolescent HealthHealth Behavior News Service
Newswise — College students’ social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The most influential people seem to be spouses, parents and friends, said study author Sean Richey, Ph.D., a political scientist at Georgia State University. “We show that a path to influencing the college students’ beliefs about vaccinations may be through their social networks,” said Richey. “So, public health officials may try to target the students’ parents with information, for example, in addition to the students themselves.”
College students face elevated risk for seasonal flu because they often live in close quarters where infectious disease can easily spread, noted Richey. Yet, during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, 30 percent of the surveyed students viewed the vaccine as unsafe, and only 10 percent chose to be vaccinated.
For the online survey, students were asked to identify four people with whom they discuss health matters. Students who believed their parents, spouses or friends were supportive of vaccination reported higher beliefs in vaccine safety and that they were more likely to intend to get the flu vaccine.
“Vaccine decisions [are] a behavior that we have very little data on, and we did not know that social networks would influence those decisions,” observed Thomas Valente, Ph.D., an expert on social networks at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
The study is promising, he added, because social networks and their perceived support for vaccines are “amenable to change.”
The study is based on responses from more than 1,000 undergraduates at a large public university in Georgia. Demographics of the participants closely match those of the university’s diverse student body.
Richey notes that the survey was only offered to students in an introductory political science class and thus may not be representative of students in general. Also, he said, “We cannot observe the flow of vaccine information within discussion networks,” making it hard to determine who influences who. Richey and his colleagues are planning to conduct a more detailed study later this year.
“Trials that test network manipulations to accelerate vaccine adoption are also needed,” added Valente.
TERMS OF USE: This story is protected by copyright. When reproducing any material, including interview excerpts, attribution to the Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health, is required. While the information provided in this news story is from the latest peer-reviewed research, it is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment recommendations. For medical questions or concerns, please consult a health care provider.###
For More Information:
Reach the Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health, at [email protected] or (202) 387-2829.
Journal of Adolescent Health: Contact Tor Berg at (415) 502-1373 or [email protected] or visit www.jahonline.org.
Brendan Nyhan, Ph.D., Jason Reifler, Ph.D., and Sean Richey, Ph.D. (2012). The Role of Social Networks in Influenza Vaccine Attitudes and Intentions Among College Students in the Southeastern United States, Journal of Adolescent Health, doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.02.014.
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