PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Zheng, Baojia
AU  - Yan, Jiao
AU  - Wang, Xiaoqing
AU  - Tang, Yuxin
AU  - Xiang, Yali
TI  - Using the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy to overcome vaccination hesitancy
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2023.44.6.20220696
DP  - 2023 Jun 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 560--596
VI  - 44
IP  - 6
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/44/6/560.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/44/6/560.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2023 Jun 01; 44
AB  - Objectives: To explore the role of the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy on vaccine hesitancy and its impact on public vaccine coverage. The ‘4Ps’ strategy (place, price, product and promotion) is a social marketing tool that had addressed many public issues and vaccinations.Methods: This study was a retrospective before-after study. A total of 10795 people were enrolled. The routine COVID-19 immunization method was used for the first vaccination doses from 23 March to 11 April, 2021. Then we carried out a ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy for vaccination from 12 April to 1 May 2021. The vaccine hesitancy and the coverage rate of the first dosage of COVID-19 vaccine in the target population were collected and compared before and after the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy.Results: The coverage reached only 6.19% during routine immunization. However, vaccine hesitancy of the target population decreased (52% versus [vs.] 3.1%, before vs. after ‘4Ps’ strategy) and degree of coverage (94.8%, vs. routine vaccination method, p<0.001) significantly increased after taking ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy. Furthermore, the ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy also consolidated the completion of the second dosage of COVID-19 vaccines.Conclusion: The ‘4Ps’ social marketing strategy greatly reduced vaccine hesitancy and enhanced vaccination coverage and provided a more effective and reliable promotion method in the face of current virus mutations and new vaccination in the future.