Stephan Lewandowsky is a professor of cognitive science at the University of Bristol, UK. His research focuses on the pressure points between technology and cognition, and how those pressure points impact the well-being of democracy. 9:00 The ethics of combatting misinformation and disinformation I will survey the broader scientific, political, and ethical context for the JITSUVAX project. I focus on the potentially lethal consequences of anti-vaccine misinformation and the challenge of addressing such misinformation effectively but without infringing on patients’ autonomy. I summarise how the JITSUVAX project has addressed that challenge.
Philipp Schmid is assistant professor of health communication at Radboud University, The Netherlands. The primary objective of his research is to understand individual health decision making and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at combating health misinformation. 9:20 Vaccination mandates and the alternatives An overview of the effectiveness and psychological impacts of vaccination mandates and their possible alternatives.
Linda Karlsson is a psychologist and postdoctoral researcher at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Her research has focused on vaccine hesitancy among healthcare professionals and the public. 9:40 Healthcare professionals as a link between vaccination policies and vaccine uptake The presentation will address the important role healthcare professionals play in people's decisions regarding vaccinations, and how the willingness of healthcare professionals to recommend vaccines is influenced by factors such as their confidence in vaccinations and attitudes towards vaccine mandates and alternative medicine.
Emeline is a research fellow at the Southeastern Health Regional Observatory, France. Her research focuses on vaccine hesitancy among men who have sex with men in France, and the emotions of healthcare professionals during vaccination consultations. 10:00 Distancing or connecting emotions of healthcare professionals when faced with patients' vaccine hesitancy: the implications? This presentation, based on qualitative interview data, focuses on the different emotions that healthcare professionals may feel when confronted with patients who are reluctant to be vaccinated, as well as the different ways in which they may talk to and support these patients. Considering the influence of emotions and interaction styles on the patient-provider relationship and the outcome of a consultation, it will question how healthcare professionals can be better prepared to conduct vaccination conversations.
Angelo Fasce is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. His research focuses on anti-scientific beliefs, including pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and alternative healthcare. 11:00 A taxonomy of arguments against vaccination and its practical applications I will present three studies in which we developed and tested the associations of a psychological classification of anti-vaccination arguments. The studies encompass a variety of methodological approaches (systematic review, natural language processing, individual differences, and spontaneous text analysis) and have guided other endeavors of the JITSUVAX project.
Dawn Holford is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, UK. She leads the research to develop the empathetic refutational interview and incorporate it into training for healthcare professionals. 11:20 Empathetic Refutational Interviewing: a conversational tool for addressing vaccine misinformation This talk will introduce the “Empathetic Refutational Interview”, a four-step tool to guide conversations to address misconceptions and misinformation about vaccines. Experimental tests showed that vaccine-hesitant participants who read a physician’s response to a hesitant patient that followed the tool (compared to a fact-based response) gave more support for the response, displayed more trust for the physician, and reported more willingness to be vaccinated. The tool is now being rolled out and evaluated in training for healthcare professionals.
11:50 Talking vaccines: improving our dialogue.
Cornelia Betsch is the Director of the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour at the University of Erfurt, Germany, where interdisciplinary social and behavioral science perspectives are applied to the study of planetary health and the climate crisis. Her research focuses on social and individual aspects in health and medical decision making, risk perception and communication, and evidence-informed health communication.
Philipp Schmid is assistant professor of health communication at Radboud University, The Netherlands. The primary objective of his research is to understand individual health decision making and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at combating health misinformation.