Campaigning Against Vaccine Hesitancy: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Health Communication on COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Plateau State, Nigeria (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread vaccination campaigns to mitigate its effects. While various strategies were employed to encourage vaccine uptake, including digital media campaigns, promotion efforts, and community outreach programs, there is limited understanding of the comparative effectiveness of these methods in increasing vaccination rates, particularly in Nigeria. This study aimed to examine the relationships between these strategies and COVID-19 vaccination uptake in a sample population. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between digital media campaigns, community outreach programs, and promotion efforts on COVID-19 vaccination uptake, and to determine which strategy had the most significant impact on increasing vaccination rates in Nigeria. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of 300 respondents was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to summarize the demographic characteristics of the sample and inferential statistics, including Spearman’s correlation and regression analysis, to assess the relationships between the three strategies and vaccination uptake. Non-parametric tests were used to account for non-normal distribution of data. RESULTS The study found that promotion efforts had the strongest correlation with COVID-19 vaccination uptake (Spearman’s rho = 0.490, p < 0.01), followed by community outreach programs (Spearman’s rho = 0.414, p < 0.01), and digital media campaigns (Spearman’s rho = 0.239, p < 0.01). Regression analysis showed that digital media campaigns accounted for 5.7% of the variance in vaccination uptake (R² = 0.057), indicating a modest but statistically significant effect. CONCLUSIONS All three strategies namely digital media campaigns, promotion efforts, and community outreach programs had significant positive associations with COVID-19 vaccination uptake. However, promotion efforts were found to be the most effective. Digital media campaigns, while statistically significant, had the weakest correlation. Future vaccination campaigns should prioritize promotion efforts, particularly targeted and localized strategies, to improve vaccine uptake. Community outreach programs should also be enhanced, especially for younger and less-educated populations. Digital media campaigns, though less impactful, remain a valuable tool for reaching broader audiences. This study provides critical insights into the relative effectiveness of various vaccine promotion strategies in Nigeria. The findings emphasize the importance of tailored promotion efforts and community engagement to enhance public health interventions, particularly in low-resource settings.