Generating Insights Into (Mis)Information About Measles Vaccination in Amsterdam Through Social Listening, the Netherlands, 2024
Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Suboptimal vaccination coverage for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) and increases in measles cases in the Netherlands prompted innovation to support informed vaccine decision-making. Through an iterative approach, this pilot implemented and evaluated social listening in the context of a local public health authority, namely Public Health Service Amsterdam. As a pilot study, we generated insights in measles vaccination. First, potential online and offline social listening data sources were identified. Second, in August-September 2024, data on measles vaccination discourse were gathered. Third, quantitative and qualitative (thematic) analyses were applied to generate insights, and risk assessment was conducted to determine their potential impact on health attitudes. We identified twenty sources for social listening. Six were selected for monitored based on feasibility and relevance. These sources were Public Health Service Amsterdam internal observations (public health professionals’ observations, source and contact tracers’ calls, and press inquiries) and three social and news media sources: Coosto, LexisNexis, and Google Trends. Results revealed diverse health beliefs, risk perceptions, concerns, and misinformation shaping vaccination attitudes. Prevalent themes included false claims on effectiveness, causes and effects of measles (vaccination), practical concerns and questions, and positive sentiments. Online and offline social listening enabled insight generation into public health perceptions during an anticipated measles outbreak. This approach is essential for understanding public needs, addressing misinformation, and informing targeted communication during public health challenges.
Author Summary
Declining vaccination coverage for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) in the Netherlands and concerns about a potential rise in measles cases prompted efforts to better understand public attitudes toward vaccination. To support informed decision-making, we tested a new approach called social listening within the Public Health Service Amsterdam. Social listening combines information from multiple, different sources, both online (e.g. social media, news, and search trends) and offline sources (such as source and contact tracers and reports from public health professionals) to understand what people are saying and exposed to regarding a specific health topic in real time. In this pilot study, we identified and monitored selected data sources during August and September in 2024. We manually analyzed this information to identify common questions, concerns and misinformation about measles vaccination. Combining these insights revealed a wide range of views describing vaccination attitudes, information gaps and themes of distrust and misinformation, but also positive sentiment. This approach provided timely insight into emerging and entrenched public perceptions and showed that social listening can effectively be implemented within a local health service. These findings highlight the potential of integrating social listening into routine public health practice to support responsive and evidence-informed communication strategies.
