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PARIS — A new report based on research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and
sponsored by Pfizer Vaccines assesses why, despite the evidence supporting the medical and cost-saving benefits of preventative health care measures, consumers regularly choose not to adopt them. Through interviews with leading international experts, the report reviews the psychological factors affecting consumer and patient decision-making, in relation to their health. The report addresses what policymakers, public health campaigners and healthcare professionals need to do to mitigate these influences, with a particular focus on vaccination.
Report key findings and recommendations
- Emotional and cognitive factors have an outsized influence on consumer preventative health care decision-making
- Policy makers, public health campaigners, and health care professionals need to be aware of these influences when developing policy and devising public health campaigns, and when making preventative health care recommendations
- There is a significant opportunity for policy makers and healthcare providers to draw on the information and tools provided by behavioral science to improve the participation rate in key preventative health care measures.
The Preventative care and behavioral science: the emotional drivers of health care decisions report considers the many factors influencing vaccination decision-making, as well as other preventative healthcare measures, through the lens of behavioral science and behavioral economics – the application of psychology to the decision-making processes of individuals and institutions. Key principles of behavioral economics have been reported to benefit healthcare management and lend themselves to understanding and addressing ‘non-rational’ influences on vaccination decision-making.
The report has been released from a webinar hosted on July 4 by Economist Events. A panel of multi-disciplinary experts came together to discuss the findings of the report and what needs to be done to ensure the opportunities presented by behavioral economics are recognized and applied across public health policy and campaigning, and during patient-doctor consultations. The webinar is available at: behaviouraleconomicsinhealthcare.economist.com.
The report concluded with what needs to happen to address the gap between preventative healthcare theory and practice, and applies this specifically to the challenge of increasing vaccination uptake.
Prof Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), U.K. concluded, “There is no single approach that will increase vaccination uptake among those who would benefit from it – multi-level interventions are needed appealing to people rationally, emotionally and taking into account prevailing cognitive biases. A broad range of stakeholders need to drive this charge.”
Professor Bonanni, Professor of Hygiene in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Florence, Italy said, “I would like to see a strong commitment from health authorities to promote vaccination among the elderly, and support healthcare professionals in their critical role. Healthcare professionals need to be educated on the principles of behavioral economics so they are able to apply them during their consultations with patients.”
Dr. Douglas Hough, Associate Scientist and Associate Director, Master of Health Administration Program, Health Policy and Management, John Hopkins University, U.S. added, “If vaccinations do their job, no one notices – no one says, ‘thank you because I’m not dead from small pox.’ Balancing data with stories is key. Patients may be swayed by data but more likely a good story. I’d suggest doctors show pictures… aim to really bring it home to the patient or the patient’s parent.”
