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PARIS , July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Report key findings and recommendations
The report has been released on the back of a webinar hosted on the 4 th July by Economist Events. A panel of multi-disciplinary experts came together to discuss the findings of the report and what needs to be done to ensure the opportunities presented by behavioural economics are recognised and applied across public health policy and campaigning, and during patient-doctor consultations. The webinar is available at: behaviouraleconomicsinhealthcare.economist.com .
Action required on multiple levels
The report concludes with what needs to happen to address the gap between preventative healthcare theory and practice, and applies this specifically to the challenge of increasing vaccination uptake.
Prof Heidi Larson , Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK concluded, "There is no single approach that will increase vaccination uptake among those who would benefit from it - multi-level interventions are needed appealing to people rationally, emotionally and taking into account prevailing cognitive biases. A broad range of stakeholders need to drive this charge."
Professor Bonanni, Professor of Hygiene in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Florence, Italy said, "I would like to see a strong commitment from health authorities to promote vaccination among the elderly, and support healthcare professionals in their critical role. Healthcare professionals need to be educated on the principles of behavioural economics so they are able to apply them during their consultations with patients."
Dr Douglas Hough , Associate Scientist & Associate Director, Master of Health Administration Program, Health Policy and Management, John Hopkins University, USA said, "If vaccinations do their job, no one notices - no one says, 'thank you because I'm not dead from small pox.' Balancing data with stories is key. Patients may be swayed by data but more likely a good story. I'd suggest doctors show pictures... aim to really bring it home to the patient or the patient's parent."
Understanding cognitive bias
The 'nocebo effect' (opposite of 'placebo effect'), is a tendency to actually experience exaggerated side effects after having read or seen material that creates negative expectations. [4]
Consumers often rely on the views of family and friends concerning medical matters in preference to medical advisors who may be better informed. [1] Research conducted by report interviewee Dr Chris Duke , Director, Center for Consumer Choice in Healthcare, Altarum Institute, USA , shows that when parents knew of families that had either positive vaccination experience or negative experiences with the targeted disease, they were more likely to accept vaccination for their own children. [1] The report concludes that one way to acknowledge this influence is to balance data and anecdotes - "use clear communication involving both data and anecdotes, and leave consumers room to relate the information to their own circumstances." [1]
Professor Bonanni said of the consequence of this lack of training, "Clinicians may be more likely to be affected by negative publicity around vaccination and can in turn, become part of the problem. If the clinician is not convinced of the value of vaccination, the patient will pick up on it - enter the power of non-verbal communication - a patient will respond differently to a 'soft' recommendation of vaccination than a strong recommendation. Doctors are not taught the principles of behavioural economics which would help them both understand and communicate with their patients. They learn on the job but it is difficult without being taught the foundations."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Vaccination has greatly reduced the burdens of infectious diseases [5] and offers cost-effective strategies [6] . Despite the evidence, there exists 'vaccination hesitancy' - the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services. [7] Vaccination refusal is an increasing challenge and threatens to jeopardize community protection against infectious disease. [8] 'Vaccine hesitancy' has also been found to exist among healthcare providers - their vaccine confidence and vaccination behaviour has been found to affect their vaccination recommendations to others. [9]
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