Reducing Vaccine Hesitancy: Behavioural Science Insights to Promote COVID Vaccines for Younger Kids

The key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is adherence to prevention behaviours and optimal uptake of vaccination. However, willingness to get vaccinated may undermined by perceived (and actual) costs, as well as perceptions of its importance for reducing virus transmission. The pandemic is now being driven primarily by the unvaccinated, many of whom are under the age of 12 – so there is an urgent need to optimize vaccination rates and address vaccine hesitancy in Canada and worldwide.


By the end of this presentation, participants will:

1. Be able to distinguish between those who are vaccine hesitant vs ‘anti-vaxxers’;

2. Be able to recognize the main barriers and facilitators of vaccination;

3. Be able to identify effective (and counter-productive) approaches to addressing vaccine hesitancy in practice, and from a public health perspective

PRESENTERS

Dr. Kim L. Lavoie, PhD, FCPA, FABMR

Professor, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Medicine,

University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM)

Co-Director, Montreal Behavioral Medicine Centre (MBMC)

Researcher, Chronic Disease Research Division, Hôpital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal

Member, College of the Royal Society of Canada

Dr. Lavoie is Full Professor in the Dept. of Psychology, at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Medicine. She is the former Director of the Chronic Disease Research Division at Hôpital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal and current Co-Director of the Montreal Behavioral Medicine Centre.  She holds a number of national and international leadership positions including Co-Lead of the International Behavioral Trials Network and Chair of the Canadian Network for Health Behavior Change. Dr. Lavoie is internationally recognized for her research on chronic disease prevention and the impact of behavioral interventions, such as motivational communication, on health behaviors and chronic disease outcomes. She has held more than $29 million in grant funding and has more than 190 peer reviewed papers and book chapters.