1887
Perspective Open Access
Like 0

Abstract

Behavioural sciences have complemented medical and epidemiological sciences in the response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As vaccination uptake continues to increase across the EU/EEA – including booster vaccinations – behavioural science research remains important for both pandemic policy, planning of services and communication. From a behavioural perspective, the following three areas are key as the pandemic progresses: (i) attaining and maintaining high levels of vaccination including booster doses across all groups in society, including socially vulnerable populations, (ii) informing sustainable pandemic policies and ensuring adherence to basic prevention measures to protect the most vulnerable population, and (iii) facilitating population preparedness and willingness to support and adhere to the reimposition of restrictions locally or regionally whenever outbreaks may occur. Based on mixed-methods research, expert consultations, and engagement with communities, behavioural data and interventions can thus be important to prevent and effectively respond to local or regional outbreaks, and to minimise socioeconomic and health disparities. In this Perspective, we briefly outline these topics from a European viewpoint, while recognising the importance of considering the specific context in individual countries.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.18.2100615
2022-05-05
2024-12-06
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.18.2100615
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/27/18/eurosurv-27-18-6.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.18.2100615&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Bavel JJV, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nat Hum Behav. 2020;4(5):460-71.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z  PMID: 32355299 
  2. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Behavioural Insights research to support the response to COVID 19: a survey of implementation in the EU/EEA. Stockholm: ECDC; 17 Feb 2021. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/behavioural-insights-research-support-response-covid-19
  3. Sanders JG, Spruijt P, van Dijk M, Elberse J, Lambooij MS, Kroese FM, et al. Understanding a national increase in COVID-19 vaccination intention, the Netherlands, November 2020-March 2021. Euro Surveill. 2021;26(36):2100792.  https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.36.2100792  PMID: 34505565 
  4. World Health Organization (WHO). Data for action: achieving high uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Geneva: WHO; 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-vaccination-demand-planning-2021.1
  5. Folkhälsomyndigheten. Resultat för befolkningens acceptans för vaccination mot covid-19. [Results for population acceptance for vaccination against covid-19]. Stockholm: Folkhälsomyndigheten; 2021. Swedish. Available from: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/smittskydd-beredskap/utbrott/aktuella-utbrott/covid-19/statistik-och-analyser/acceptans-for-vaccination-mot-covid-19
  6. Christie A, Henley SJ, Mattocks L, Fernando R, Lansky A, Ahmad FB, et al. Decreases in COVID-19 cases, emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and deaths among older adults following the introduction of COVID-19 vaccine — United States, September 6, 2020–May 1, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(23):858-64.  https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7023e2  PMID: 34111059 
  7. Chemaitelly H, Ayoub HH, AlMukdad S, Coyle P, Tang P, Yassine HM, et al. Duration of mRNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants in Qatar. medRxiv2022.03.13.22272308. Preprint.  https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.13.22272308 
  8. Lemey P, Ruktanonchai N, Hong SL, Colizza V, Poletto C, Van den Broeck F, et al. Untangling introductions and persistence in COVID-19 resurgence in Europe. Nature. 2021;595(7869):713-7.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03754-2  PMID: 34192736 
  9. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Rapid risk assessment: Assessing SARS-CoV-2 circulation, variants of concern, non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccine rollout in the EU/EEA, 15th update. Stockholm: ECDC; 10 Jun 2021. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-risk-assessment-sars-cov-2-circulation-variants-concern
  10. Xiong J, Lipsitz O, Nasri F, Lui LMW, Gill H, Phan L, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population: A systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:55-64.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001  PMID: 32799105 
  11. Uiters E, Kroese F, Spruijt P, Kolner C, Wuyts R, Geijsen T, et al. De langetermijnaanpak van het coronabeleid: voorkeur van burgers en het maatschappelijk middenveld. [The long-term corona strategy: preferences from citizens and societal stakeholders]. Bilthoven: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu; 2022. Dutch. Available from: https://www.rivm.nl/documenten/langetermijnaanpak-van-coronabeleid-voorkeur-van-burgers-en-maatschappelijk-middenveld
  12. Brewer NT, Chapman GB, Rothman AJ, Leask J, Kempe A. Increasing vaccination: putting psychological science into action. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2017;18(3):149-207.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618760521  PMID: 29611455 
  13. Robinson E, Jones A, Lesser I, Daly M. International estimates of intended uptake and refusal of COVID-19 vaccines: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of large nationally representative samples. Vaccine. 2021;39(15):2024-34.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.02.005  PMID: 33722411 
  14. Fransen M, Uiters E. Vaccinatiebereidheid COVID-19 onder groepen met een migratieachtergrond. [Vaccination readiness for COVID-19 among groups with a migration background]. Bilthoven: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu; 2021. Dutch. Available from: https://www.rivm.nl/documenten/vaccinatiebereidheid-covid-19-onder-groepen-met-migratieachtergrond
  15. Bach AT, Kang AY, Lewis J, Xavioer S, Portillo I, Goad JA. Addressing common barriers in adult immunizations: a review of interventions. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2019;18(11):1167-85.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2019.1698955  PMID: 31791159 
  16. Butler R, MacDonald NE, SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. Diagnosing the determinants of vaccine hesitancy in specific subgroups: The Guide to Tailoring Immunization Programmes (TIP). Vaccine. 2015;33(34):4176-9.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.04.038  PMID: 25896376 
  17. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe). Pandemic fatigue: reinvigorating the public to prevent COVID-19: policy considerations for Member States in the WHO European Region. WHO/Europe; 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/335820
  18. Michie S, West R, Harvey N. The concept of "fatigue" in tackling covid-19. BMJ. 2020;371:m4171.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4171  PMID: 33139254 
  19. Liebst L, Ejbye-Ernst P, de Bruin M, Thomas J, Lindegaard M. Mask-wearing and social distancing: Evidence from a video-observational and natural-experimental study of public space behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. PsyArXiv. 2021. Preprint.  https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ep8jg 
  20. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as of 1 July 2021. Stockholm: ECDC. [Accessed: 6 Jul 2021]. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/variants-concern
  21. Haug N, Geyrhofer L, Londei A, Dervic E, Desvars-Larrive A, Loreto V, et al. Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions. Nat Hum Behav. 2020;4(12):1303-12.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01009-0  PMID: 33199859 
  22. Dai H, Saccardo S, Han MA, Roh L, Raja N, Vangala S, et al. Behavioural nudges increase COVID-19 vaccinations. Nature. 2021;597(7876):404-9.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03843-2  PMID: 34340242 
  23. Abaluck J, Kwong LH, Styczynski A, Haque A, Kabir MA, Bates-Jefferys E, et al. Impact of community masking on COVID-19: A cluster-randomized trial in Bangladesh. Science. 2022;375(6577):eabi9069.  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi9069  PMID: 34855513 
Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error