Using the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy to overcome vaccination hesitancy: COVID-19 vaccine coverage in a Chinese college as an example

Authors

• Baojia Zheng, From the Department of Health Management Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.
• Jiao Yan, From the Department of Health Management Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.
• Xiaoqing Wang, From the Department of Health Management Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.
• Yuxin Tang, From the Department of Health Management Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.
• Yali Xiang, From the Department of Health Management Center, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the role of the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy on vaccine hesitancy and its impact on public vaccine coverage. The ‘4Ps’ strategy (place, price, product and promotion) is a social marketing tool that had addressed many public issues and vaccinations. Methods: This study was a retrospective before-after study. A total of 10795 people were enrolled. The routine COVID-19 immunization method was used for the first vaccination doses from 23 March to 11 April, 2021. Then we carried out a ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy for vaccination from 12 April to 1 May 2021. The vaccine hesitancy and the coverage rate of the first dosage of COVID-19 vaccine in the target population were collected and compared before and after the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy. Results: The coverage reached only 6.19% during routine immunization. However, vaccine hesitancy of the target population decreased (52% versus [vs.] 3.1%, before vs. after ‘4Ps’ strategy) and degree of coverage (94.8%, vs. routine vaccination method, p <0.001) significantly increased after taking ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy. Furthermore, the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy also consolidated the completion of the second dosage of COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion: The ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy greatly reduced vaccine hesitancy and enhanced vaccination coverage and provided a more effective and reliable promotion method in the face of current virus mutations and new vaccination in the future.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

560

Last Page

596

Recommended Citation

Zheng, Baojia; Yan, Jiao; Wang, Xiaoqing; Tang, Yuxin; and Xiang, Yali (2023) "Using the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy to overcome vaccination hesitancy: COVID-19 vaccine coverage in a Chinese college as an example," Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 44: Iss. 6, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2023.44.6.20220696