Role of COVID-19 Caller Tune and Intention to Get Vaccinated: An Application of the Health Belief Model

Abstract

This study examined the persuasive healthcare communication of COVID-19 vaccination using mobile phone caller tunes as cues to action in intention to get vaccinated. Results indicate that caller tunes have a significant impact on only two constructs of the health belief model (HBM)—perceived benefits and self-efficacy—which can lead to getting vaccinated. However, the individual’s perception of barriers, severity and susceptibility was not found to be influenced by the caller tunes. The study was conducted with a sample of 334 drawn from India who were in the process of getting vaccinated at the time of the data collection. Our analysis reveals that a well-designed caller tune message by incorporating aspects of all constructs of HBM may have a bigger impact in such an unprecedented crisis. There is a dearth of research focussing on the relevance of cues to action in public health communication, and our study is an attempt to address this gap.