ASPO Abstracts
Associations Between Political Ideology, Media Use, and COVID-19 Vaccination Among Patients with Cancer
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2023
Abstract Body:
Purpose: COVID-19 vaccination is an important public health measure, especially for patients with cancer who are more likely to experience poor COVID- related outcomes. We evaluated if political ideology and media consumption were associated with COVID-19 vaccination among cancer patients. Methods: Adults with a cancer diagnosis were asked about COVID-19 vaccination status on six surveys from March 2021-March 2022. Political ideology (liberal; moderate; conservative; prefer not to answer) and media use for COVID-19 information (government websites/healthcare professional/scientific journal; local/national news/TV; local/national radio/newspaper/news websites; social media; other websites; friends/family/neighbors; none/don't follow COVID-19 news) was assessed from January-March 2022. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we estimated odds of COVID-19 vaccination by political ideology or media consumption, adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and smoking status. Results: Among 4,137 patients, 94% were vaccinated. Compared to moderate ideology, liberals had increased odds of vaccination (OR=3.72, 95%CI=1.71-8.12), while conservatives and those who preferred not to answer had lower odds of vaccination (OR=0.32, 95%CI=0.20-0.50; OR=0.40, 95%CI=0.24-0.66, respectively). Compared to those who received their COVID-19 related news from a government website/healthcare professional/scientific journal, those who used other websites or friends/family/neighbors had lower odds of vaccination (OR=0.31, 95%CI=0.22-0.44; OR=0.62, 95%CI=0.42-0.89, respectively). Those who did not follow COVID-19 news had the lowest odds of vaccination (OR=0.12, 95%CI=0.07-0.20). Other sources of COVID-19 news were not associated with vaccination. Medical trust attenuated associations for those with an unknown political ideology or who received COVID-19 news from friends/family/neighbors. Conclusion: Nearly all cancer patients in this study received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Political ideology and type of news media consumed strongly predicted vaccination, which was partially mediated by medical trust. Public health vaccination campaigns should address medical trust across the political spectrum and news media types.
Keywords: political ideology, media, COVID-19 vaccination