International migrants and coronavirus disease 2019 vaccinations: Social Media, motivated information management, and vaccination willingness

View/ Open
Issue Date
2022-09-22Author
Seo, Hyunjin
Liu, Yuchen
Ittefaq, Muhammad
Shayesteh, Fatemeh
Kamanga, Ursula
Baines, Annalise
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Rights
© The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objective
This study examines how those who were born outside the United States and migrated to the country in the past decade used social media and other online sites to deal with uncertainties around the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In particular, we examine how they used digital communication technologies to tap into online resources and social connections both in the United States and their origin country and how various aspects of online information management were associated with their willingness to get vaccinated against the virus.
Method
We conducted an online survey and in-depth interviews with international migrants aged 18–64 years who moved to the United States in 2011 or later and were living in two neighboring states in the US Midwest as of spring 2021. Since this research involves understanding how these international migrants dealt with uncertainties related to coronavirus disease 2019 vaccinations, we collected the survey and interview data when each state had a vaccination rate of less than 10% and very limited vaccination eligibility for those aged 64 years and below.
Results
Our results show that international migrants” perceived uncertainty, positive and negative emotions, efficacy, and outcome expectancy affect their information seeking related to the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination. In addition, issue salience moderates the effect between information seeking and vaccine willingness.
Conclusion
This research provides relevant and timely scholarly and policy implications that help advance research in this area and better support international migrant communities during public health crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Collections
Citation
Seo H, Liu Y, Ittefaq M, Shayesteh F, Kamanga U, Baines A. International migrants and coronavirus disease 2019 vaccinations: Social Media, motivated information management, and vaccination willingness. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2022;8. doi:10.1177/20552076221125972
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.