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Debunking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation with an audio drama in Ghana, a randomized control trial

delete2025-03-15
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OA
AI
M
Maike Winters
S
Sarah Christie
H
Hannah Melchinger
I
Iddi Iddrisu
A
Al Hassan, Hudi
E
Eulette Ewart
M
Mosley, Lateefah
R
Rabiu Alhassan
N
Ndeeya Shani
D
Dela Nyamuame
C
Chelsey Lepage
A
Angus Thomson
A
Anastasiia Nurzhynska Atif
S
Saad B. Omer *
DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-92731-0delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has hampered their uptake worldwide. In Ghana, a belief that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility is prevalent and difficult to counter. UNICEF Ghana co-produced a context-driven, behavioral science-based audio drama ('A shot of love') that aimed to debunk this misinformation narrative. In a randomized controlled trial, 13,000 young adults who had previously interacted with UNICEF's Agoo platform were randomized to either control (audio about nutrition) or intervention (audio drama debunking the COVID-19 misinformation). We found that the intervention had a strong protective effect against belief in misinformation, both directly after listening to the audio drama (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 0.45, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.34-0.59) as well as at the one-month follow-up (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.49-0.91). Similarly, the intervention had a strong effect on perceived safety of the COVID-19 vaccines directly after listening to the audio drama (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.22-2.00) and at one-month follow-up (aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.13-2.07). Overall, our behavioral science-based, context-driven audio drama was effective in reducing the strength of belief in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and increasing the perceived safety of the vaccines in Ghana.
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Journal

Scientific Reports cover
Scientific Reports
IF:
3.9
Papers:
27.1W
Citations:
83.5W

Organization

U
UNICEF
Scholars:
811
Papers: 666
Citations: 107
Y
Yale University
Scholars:
6.5W
Papers: 6.0W
Citations: 10.0W
U
university of texas system
Scholars:
18.3W
Papers: 15.5W
Citations: 210
U
university of texas southwestern medical center dallas
Scholars:
1.8W
Papers: 1.4W
Citations: 28
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