This symposium is a forum for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to present and discuss studies applying behavioral insights to inform policy and improve vaccination acceptance and demand.

It features a tour of recent studies and reflections on pressing questions of vaccination policy. How to use behavioral insights during vaccination campaigns? What interventions (e.g., reminders, information, incentives) work best, and for whom? What are the drivers of vaccines hesitancy? What is the role of misinformation or disinformation in vaccination choices?

Agenda:

Behavioural insights experts from the World Health Organization, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and representatives of EU Member States will present their work.

09:00-09:30   Registration and welcome coffee

09:30-09:50   Welcome and Introduction

09:50-10:15   Vantage Point 1 – Directorate for Health and Food Safety

Emilie Karafillakis (European research lead - Vaccine Confidence Project) London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The Vaccine Confidence Report 2022: preliminary data, trends and the impact of Covid-19

10:15-10:35   Vantage Point 2 – European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

John Kinsman (Expert Social and Behaviour Change - ECDC) [Remote]

Facilitating vaccination acceptance and uptake in the EU/EEA - lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic

10:35-11:00   Coffee break

11:00-12:30   Vantage Point 3 – Joint Research Centre

Marianna Baggio (Policy Analyst - JRC) (10 min + 5min Q&A)

Understanding and monitoring vaccination acceptance and demand: a multi country cross sectional survey

Virginia Casigliani (MD - Public Health resident, Department of translational research and new technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa) and Dario Menicagli (PhD - Research collaborator IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca)

VaxPro: investigating family pediatricians' attitude toward vaccine promotion

Rustam Romaniuc (Associate Professor- University of Montpellier)

Vaccination and the pandemic: a literature review

Hendrik Bruns (Policy Analyst - Joint Research Centre)

Countering Covid-19 misinformation using targeted behavioural interventions

Zsuzsanna Pasztor (Policy Analyst - Joint Research Centre) (10 minutes + 5min Q&A)

Covid-19 vaccines in the headlines

12:30-13:30   Lunch

13:30-15:00   Vantage Point 4 – International perspectives

WHO-Europe - Siff Malue Nielsen (Behavioural and cultural insights for health – World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe)

Rapid qualitative research to inform interventions for increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake

WHO – Lisa Menning (Team Lead Demand and Behavioural Sciences - Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals - World Health Organization)

Understanding behavioural and social drivers of vaccine uptake: a global perspective.

UNICEF - Benjamin Hickler ( Behavioural Science Research Manager – Office of Research – Innocenti) (10 min + 5min Q&A)

Ethical Considerations When Applying Behavioural Science in Projects Focused on Children

Save the Children – Veerle Snijders (Behavioural Scientist - CUBIC, Save the Children)

Using behavioural insights at scale

15:00-15:30   Coffee Break

15:30-17:00   Vantage Point 4 – National perspectives

ITALY: Giacomo Galletti (Health and social care researcher - ARS Toscana)

Promoting Influenza Vaccination among Staff of Nursing Homes According to Behavioral Insights.

SWEDEN – Sarah Earnshaw Blomquist (Analyst in the Vaccination Programme - Public Health Agency of Sweden) and Emma Appelqvist (Analyst in the Vaccination Programme - Public Health Agency of Sweden)

Acceptance for vaccination against Covid-19 in Sweden over time

THE NETHERLANDS– Marijn de Bruin (Behavioural Scientist – Corona Behavioural Unit of the RIVM)

Vaccination willingness, drivers and interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands

GERMANY Malte Petersen (Policy Advisor at German Federal Chancellery)

Covid-19 Response in Germany: Pinpointing a moving target with snapshot monitoring

BELGIUM Maarten Vansteenkiste (Professor - University of Ghent)

The role of motivational dynamics in understanding citizen’s sustained behavioral adherence and vaccination.

17:00-17:20   Wrap-up session

Participation:

The event is free and hybrid: online and offline participation is available. Use this link to register.

Organizers:

The event was created by the Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights (CCBI) at the European Commission Joint Research Center and supported by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety