Currently accepted at: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 21, 2025
Date Accepted: Jan 9, 2026
This paper has been accepted and is currently in production.
It will appear shortly on 10.2196/74280
The final accepted version (not copyedited yet) is in this tab.
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Impact of Media on Vaccine Literacy and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Effective communication regarding vaccination is a critical public health priority nowadays. Challenges such as vaccine hesitancy and infodemic, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, complicate this task. Despite new communication tools present numerous opportunities, they also risk the spread of misinformation and mistrust.
Objective:
We aim to provide a deeper understanding of communication means’ effectiveness in promoting vaccine literacy and countering vaccine hesitancy.
Methods:
We conducted a rigorous systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, beginning with 5.124 articles (from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). After initial screening and duplicates removal, pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, resulting in a total of 77 articles.
Results:
Upon full-text screening, 34 articles were ultimately included and appropriately categorized. Traditional media appear more effective in enhancing vaccine attitudes and acceptance than online and social media. Vaccine adherence is also significantly influenced by various sociodemographic determinants, including gender, age, ethnicity, education level, socioeconomic status, and political orientation.
Conclusions:
Communication strategies need to be re-evaluated and enhanced considering rapid social changes and technological advancements to implement tailored approaches and improve the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO ID: CRD42025637441
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.