Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in Louisiana Through Social Media Listening and Community Feedback: Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: The rise of social media has significantly impacted public health programs, with platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and, more recently, TikTok being used to promote health information, raise awareness about disease outbreaks, and support disease prevention programs. However, the diverse and often unverified nature of the content on social media can make it challenging to discern accurate information, contributing to user uncertainty, which may in turn contribute to low vaccination rates in some regions. This is especially true in Louisiana as its COVID-19 vaccination rates were among the lowest in the country in 2022. Therefore, understanding public sentiment on social media and developing targeted campaigns to counter unverified information is essential for advancing public health campaigns.

Objective: The goal was to gain insights into the underlying factors that contribute to Louisiana's low vaccination rates for routine immunizations by (1) performing social media listening to develop an infodemic management plan and (2) promoting accurate information via a social media campaign.

Methods: Social media listening was conducted using Meltwater, a media monitoring and social media listening platform, supplemented by Google Alerts and Google News to identify if vaccine-related stories or sentiments were attracting unusual attention. Additionally, a social media campaign aimed at educating Louisiana residents about disease manifestation, symptoms, vaccines available for disease prevention, and potential side effects was developed. Posts were published 2 to 3 times a week and boosted for 7 days.

Results: From November 13, 2023, to June 11, 2024, social media listening identified at least 15 unique, noteworthy stories that signified sentiment spikes. These conversations were predominantly related to vaccine hesitancy, with users expressing opposition to vaccines or reluctance to engaging with vaccine-related information. Sentiment spikes included themes related to mistrust of vaccines and concerns about their safety and efficacy. The social media campaign received 69,600 impressions, reached 43,429 users, and received 652 reactions and likes, 62 shares, and 105 comments. Most of the audience was female, with higher engagement from older users on Facebook and younger users on Instagram. Finally, posts related to hepatitis B, rotavirus, and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines received the most attention.

Conclusions: Social media has become a key tool for digital health, helping to implement disease prevention programs and promoting advances in medicine. However, unverified information remains a major reason for the aversion to vaccination despite the dissemination of information from reputable public health organizations, health professionals, hospitals, and medical centers. To address this, information that is accessible, understandable, and culturally competent must be circulated to mitigate disinformation and improve attitudes toward vaccination. More research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of social media campaigns in reducing vaccine hesitancy and improving willingness to adopt public health recommendations to increase vaccination rates.