31/10/2024 (Thursday) 13:00-14:00 E21B-G002
“Belonging is Stronger than Facts”: Combating Vaccine Hesitancy with a Culturally Sensitive Approach
Abstract:
Vaccine hesitancy remains a critical global health challenge, raising essential questions: Why do people believe in vaccine misinformation? What makes it so difficult to address vaccine hesitancy? Most importantly, how can we bridge the gap between scientific facts and vaccine acceptance? This talk presents a culturally sensitive approach as a key to understanding and addressing vaccine hesitancy. In this presentation, the speaker will discuss how cultural identities and values shape people’s vaccine beliefs and behaviors. The central argument of this talk is that combating vaccine hesitancy requires more than just the dissemination of scientific information. Instead, communication interventions should be tailored to the varied information needs, identities, values, and worldviews of a culturally diverse audience. This approach moves beyond the conventional ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy, advocating for a nuanced, culturally sensitive strategy in tackling vaccine hesitancy and fostering vaccine acceptance.
Bio:
Dr. Wang studies strategic communication in the contexts of health, risk, and science. Her research focuses on how to effectively convey accurate and accessible information to the public, helping them make better-informed decisions. Dr. Wang’s interdisciplinary work addresses critical societal issues such as vaccine hesitancy, climate change, food safety, and public health crises. Her research has been published in prestigious communication and interdisciplinary journals, including Science Communication, Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Environmental Communication, Asian Journal of Communication, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Social Science & Medicine. Dr. Wang currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication and a Certificate in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her educational background also includes an M.Phil. in Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Law from Renmin University of China.
