Factors Influencing Intentions and Behavior Toward Swine Flu Vaccine (Prevention, Vaccination).

In 1976, all Americans were urged to get a Swine Flu shot by the President of the United States in order to reduce public susceptibility to a rare influenza strain that was predicted by federal health officials. A longitudinal telephone survey design was developed to allow researchers to evaluate the status of a representative sample of adults prior to the availability of the vaccine and after the mass immunization campaign had ended. The relationships between a wide variety of theoretical predictors and behavioral intentions toward the vaccine, as reported during the pre-test, and immunization behavior, as reported during the follow-up survey, were assessed. Theoretically relevant predictors of immunization behavior, including personal and social characteristics, knowledge, past experience, health beliefs, media, social and physician influences, health status, preventive orientation, and intentions are evaluated in bivariate and multivariable analyses. Research questions examined include: (1) The predictability and sufficiency of the Health Belief Model; (2) The predictability and sufficiency of the Fishbein Model; (3) The stability of health beliefs; (4) The predictiveness of pre-test beliefs compared to post-test beliefs; (5) The importance of different types of social influences. Overall, it was found that measures of intentions and social influence were at least as important predictors of Swine flu related actions as were health beliefs. Post-test beliefs were found to be better predictors than pre-test beliefs. While it was found that the beliefs were not very stable overtime, given the circumstances surrounding the Swine flu campaign and the lengthy interval between interviews, the identified instability was consistent with expectations.PhDPublic healthUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160272/1/8502772.pd