Associations between Media Use and Health Information-Seeking Behavior on Vaccinations in South Korea

"Future studies should explain how diverse communication choices affect being vaccinated."

This study was conducted to identify socio-contextual factors that promote preventative behaviour regarding vaccinations from the perspective of health communication. Noting that media plays a critical role in the formation of the population's perception of social issues, researchers analysed associations between media use and searching for health information related to vaccinations in South Korea. The study was conducted to validate the existence of communication inequality as the strong link between social inequality and health inequality and to identify ways of increasing health equity.

In 2015, there were 186 confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Korea, and 38 deaths from MERS. An investigation analysed main causes of a failure to prevent these deaths; one was lack of a national system or effective coordination between experts in managing risk communication at that time. While the outbreak of MERS has ended, health experts in Korea are placing increasing emphasis on the critical role of public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) in responding to future infectious epidemics.

The study relied on a national survey of Korean adults (n = 1,367). Participants were adult males and females age 20 and older. Web and face-to-face surveys were conducted throughout July 2014. The main outcome was vaccination (categorised as yes or no). Independent variables were time spent on media, frequency of health information-seeking behaviour (HISB), and types of health information sought.

Controlling for co-variates, logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors that influence Korean adults being vaccinated. Results revealed that accessible information about emerging infectious diseases, listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper were associated with increased odds of being vaccinated. Specifically, those who spent more time listening to the radio are 13.9% more likely to be vaccinated than those who do not (odds ratio (OR) = 1.139, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.016-1.277, p< 0.05). Those who spent more time reading print newspapers are 31.9% more likely to be vaccinated than those that do not (OR = 1.319, 95% CI: 1.100-1.581, p< 0.01). However, those who spent more time using the internet are 17.7% less likely to be vaccinated (OR = 0.823, 95% CI: 0.743-0.911, p< 0.001). HISB as well as being female and of higher socio-economic status were positively correlated with Korean adults being vaccinated. For instance, those who more actively engaged in health information seeking are 22.7% more likely to be vaccinated (OR = 1.227, 95% CI: 1.048-1.436, p< 0.05). Regarding content of health-related information participants sought, the more the topic was about diseases suffered by information-seekers or hospitals and physicians, the more likely these individuals were to have been vaccinated.

The researchers reflect on these findings, noting that health communication variables such as media use and HISB may affect various types of health-related preventative behaviours. Vaccination may be promoted if information accessibility is heightened and an individual's health information-seeking capacity is strengthened in populations with serious health inequality, especially for those with low incomes. They describe the need for responsible media representatives to strengthen the population's health information-seeking access through viable, diverse media channels. As the results above show, it is critical to ensure appropriate use of radio and print newspapers. Furthermore, health-related information should be provided to patients by public health personnel at medical agencies in a more accurate and accessible manner.

In conclusion, "[b]ecause there are differences in vaccination awareness depending on social class, it is critical to reduce communication inequality, strengthen accessibility to vaccinations, and devise appropriate risk communication strategies that ensure Korean adults receive vaccinations."