JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Community members are increasingly seeking vaccine information outside clinical settings. Social media platforms have become common venues for people to access and discuss vaccine-related content, and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbots have introduced a new mode of information access, often in an environment without professional interpretation or support. Existing reviews mainly summarise the content and sentiment of online discussions, as well as the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation, without offering sufficient insight into the underlying factors and mechanisms that motivate and shape vaccine information-seeking behaviour: who seeks information, when and why?

Objective:

This scoping review aims to review existing literature on community members' vaccine information-seeking behaviour via GenAI and social media, to synthesise the engagement patterns reported, and to identify the underlying socioeconomic, emotional, epistemological, relational, and institutional factors that motivate and shape such behaviour.

Methods:

The review follows the Arksey and O'Malley framework, as advanced by Levac et al. and the Joanna Briggs Institute, and is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Systematic searches combining three concept blocks (digital context; vaccine subject; information-seeking behaviour) were conducted across nine databases (MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, ACM Digital Library and IEEE Xplore) for peer-reviewed, English-language articles published between January 2016 and April 2026. Records were screened independently by at least two reviewers in Rayyan following team calibration. Data are being charted using a standardised extraction form capturing behavioural patterns and engagement processes alongside shaping factors at the micro-level (individual), the meso-level (relational and experiential), and the macro-level (structural and contextual). Evidence will be synthesised through descriptive summary and inductive thematic analysis.

Results:

The database search retrieved 4867 records (1900 unique records after deduplication). Title and abstract screening and full-text screening have been completed, with 82 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. First-round data extraction will begin in July 2026 and is expected to be completed by August 2026; thematic synthesis is planned for September 2026, with submission of the completed review anticipated in November 2026.

Conclusions:

By mapping behavioural patterns and underlying shaping factors, this review will provide an evidence base for understanding why people do what they do, offering key insights to inform the development of behaviour-focused interventions that support community members' effective and safe engagement with social media and GenAI in vaccine information-seeking, and will identify gaps to guide future research. Clinical Trial: This scoping review protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF) [10.17605/OSF.IO/8ZCQG].