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Systematic Review
To scope the existing research landscape on interventions to enhance the willingness of different populations to be vaccinated against COVID‐19, increase COVID‐19 vaccine uptake, or decrease COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy, and to map the evidence according to addressed populations and intervention categories.
Thirteen published studies in this review met the inclusion criteria of this evidence map, whereby actual vaccine uptake was measured as an outcome.
In regards to the findings from the wider review, the authors state:
We included 96 studies in the scoping review, 35 of which are ongoing and 61 studies with published results. We did not identify any relevant systematic reviews.
Studies with published results
Of the 61 studies with published results, 46 studies were RCTs and 15 NRSIs. The interventions investigated in the studies were heterogeneous with most studies testing communication strategies to enhance COVID‐19 vaccine uptake. Most studies assessed the willingness to get vaccinated as an outcome. The majority of studies were conducted in English‐speaking high‐income countries. Moreover, most studies investigated digital interventions in an online setting. Populations that were addressed were diverse. For example, studies targeted healthcare workers, ethnic minorities in the USA, students, soldiers, at‐risk patients, or the general population.
Ongoing studies
Of the 35 ongoing studies, 29 studies are RCTs and six NRSIs. Educational and communication interventions were the most used types of interventions. The majority of ongoing studies plan to assess vaccine uptake as an outcome. Again, the majority of studies are being conducted in English‐speaking high‐income countries. In contrast to the studies with published results, most ongoing studies will not be conducted online. Addressed populations range from minority populations in the USA to healthcare workers or students. Eleven ongoing studies have estimated completion dates in 2022.
The authors state:
We were able to identify and map a variety of heterogeneous interventions for increasing COVID‐19 vaccine uptake or decreasing vaccine hesitancy. Our results demonstrate that this is an active field of research with 61 published studies and 35 studies still ongoing. This review gives a comprehensive overview of interventions to increase COVID‐19 vaccine uptake and can be the foundation for subsequent systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions to increase COVID‐19 vaccine uptake.
A research gap was shown for studies conducted in low and middle‐income countries and studies investigating policy interventions and improved access, as well as for interventions addressing children and adolescents. As COVID‐19 vaccines become more widely available, these populations and interventions should not be neglected in research.