[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-113211-en":3,"doc-seo-113211-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":96},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},113211,137441390410,"Hazel","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000252f4ab5702993?_k=1776741390130283984",7,"Healthcare","Using social media surveys and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia","Countering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has posed a major challenge in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic. The study aims to clarify information needs, perceived benefits and concerns, trusted sources, social norms, and predictors of vaccine uptake, and to identify messaging strategies that strengthen intentions among unvaccinated people. Between March and April 2021, an online survey and a randomized message experiment assessed Facebook Ads and Messenger effects. Results show comparable message framing, high overall intent, and needs focused on efficacy and safety.","Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized  \nResearch article EMHJ – Vol. 30 No. 3 – 2024  \nUsing social media surveys and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia  \nJungKyu Rhys Lim1, Ellen Moscoe1, Ada Alqunaibet2, Daniel Alejandro Pinzon Hernandez1, Amaal Alruwaily2, Mohamad Chatila1, Rasha Alfawaz2, Laura Zoratto1, Zeina Afif1, Renos Vakis1, Berq J HadiAl-Yasseri1, Reem F Alsukait1, Son Nam Nguyen1, Christopher H Herbst1 and Abdullah Algwizani2  \n1The World Bank, Washington DC, USA (Correspondence to JungKyu Rhys Lim: [rhyslim@worldbank.org](rhyslim@worldbank.org)).2Suadi Arabia Public Health Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  \nAbstract  \nBackground: Countering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been a challenge in Saudi Arabia, one of the countries affected most by the pandemic in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.  \nAims: To identify information needs, perceived benefits, concerns, trusted information sources, social norms, and predictors for COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Saudi Arabia and identify effective messaging strategies to increase vaccination intentions among the unvaccinated.  \nMethod: Between March and April 2021, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey (N = 2883), and in part, a randomized experiment for unvaccinated participants (n = 675) in Saudi Arabia using Facebook Ads and Messenger. Unvaccinated participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 message conditions and after message exposure, participants were asked if they planned to take the COVID-19 vaccine.  \nResults: In total, 2883 adults participated in the survey. All message framings worked equally well, with no statistically significant difference between the arms. Approximately 80% of the participants across all message conditions said they intended to vaccinate. However, participants wanted to know more about the vaccines; about 35% wanted to know more about vaccine efficacy, 31.5% about safety, 26.8% about health authority’s recommendation, and 3.7% about where to get the vaccines. Health workers (61.4%) and scientists and epidemiologists (25.7%) were the most trusted sources. Others were family members (7.5%), community leaders (2.2%), religious leaders (1.6%), friends (1.4%), and celebrities and social media influencers (0.2%).  \nConclusion: Vaccine hesitancy can be overcome by understanding individuals’ decision-making processes and using effective risk communication targeted to their needs.  \nKeywords: vaccine hesitancy, vaccine uptake, immunization, COVID-19, infectious disease, surveys, message experiment, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Citation: Lim JR, MoscoeE, AlqunaibetA, PinzonD, AlruwailA, Chatila Met al. Using social media surveys and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia. East Mediterr Health J. 2024;30(3):182–195. [https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.24.013](https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.24.013)  \nReceived: 22/09/22; Accepted: 13/12/23  \nCopyright: © Authors 2024; Licensee: World Health Organization. EMHJ is an open access journal. All papers published in EMHJ are available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo)).  \nIntroduction  \nVaccines for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been crucial public health preventive measures to lower the risks of COVID-19 infection, spread, illness, and death. However, despite increased availability of vaccine and the potential threat from new variants, vaccination rates have been lagging with many countries far below the coverage rates needed to attain the WHO target of 70% global vaccination coverage by mid-2022 (1). Diffusion theory suggests that new innovations follow a trend where a small group of early adopters take up the new technology quickly, followed over time by other population groups with varying degrees of resistance to change (2). The SARS-C","cbCaijeYgpgkVKmT","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijeYgpgkVKmT","pdf",611104,3,1,14,"English","en",105,"# Abstract\n# Background and aims\n# Methods\n# Results\n# Conclusion\n# Introduction\n## Vaccine importance and adoption patterns\n## Definition and determinants of hesitancy\n## Risk communication theories and conceptual framework","[{\"question\":\"What was the main objective of the study in Saudi Arabia?\",\"answer\":\"The study identified information needs, trusted sources, social norms, and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and tested effective messaging strategies to increase intentions among unvaccinated people.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the survey and messaging experiment conducted?\",\"answer\":\"From March to April 2021, researchers ran an online cross-sectional survey (N=2883) and a randomized experiment for unvaccinated participants (n=675) using Facebook Ads and Messenger across five message conditions.\"},{\"question\":\"What did participants most want to know about the vaccines?\",\"answer\":\"Participants’ main interests were vaccine efficacy (about 35%), safety (31.5%), and health authority recommendations (26.8%), with fewer asking where to get the vaccines (3.7%).\"},{\"question\":\"Which information sources were considered most trusted?\",\"answer\":\"Health workers were most trusted (61.4%), followed by scientists and epidemiologists (25.7%), while family members, community and religious leaders, friends, and social media influencers were less frequently trusted.\"}]","Using social media surveys and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia | 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was the main objective of the study in Saudi Arabia?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"The study identified information needs, trusted sources, social norms, and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and tested effective messaging strategies to increase intentions among unvaccinated people.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"How was the survey and messaging experiment conducted?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"From March to April 2021, researchers ran an online cross-sectional survey (N=2883) and a randomized experiment for unvaccinated participants (n=675) using Facebook Ads and Messenger across five message conditions.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What did participants most want to know about the vaccines?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"Participants’ main interests were vaccine efficacy (about 35%), safety (31.5%), and health authority recommendations (26.8%), with fewer asking where to get the vaccines 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