Measuring Vaccination Perception, Confidence, and Uptake: Advancing Instrument Development and Validation

Vaccination perception and confidence significantly influence public health outcomes globally. Vaccine hesitancy remains a pressing issue, recognized by WHO as one of the top global health threats, affecting public trust, immunization rates, and ultimately disease control efforts. Reliable and valid measurement tools are essential to accurately assess perceptions, confidence, and attitudes towards vaccination, yet current methodologies still experience limitations in precision, cross-cultural applicability, and adaptability to rapidly changing public health contexts. Recent studies highlight the necessity for instruments that robustly capture nuances in vaccine behaviors, thereby informing targeted interventions and comprehensive vaccination campaigns. While several measurement tools exist, challenges persist in their validation and adaptation across diverse populations and settings.

This Research Topic aims to advance the development, evaluation, and implementation of valid and reliable measurement tools for vaccination perceptions, confidence, hesitancy, and uptake. Specifically, it will facilitate exploration into novel methodological approaches, rigorous assessments of psychometric properties, and adaptation strategies for culturally diverse populations. Central objectives include improving precision in measurement, enhancing evidence-based understanding of vaccine-related decision-making processes, and informing effective interventions to strengthen global vaccination programs.

To gather further insights within methodological rigor, empirical validation, and practical application of vaccine measurement tools, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Development and psychometric validation of new instruments measuring vaccine attitudes, confidence, hesitancy, and behavior;

• Cross-cultural adaptation, translation, and validation of existing vaccine-related measurement tools;

• Evaluation of innovative digital and survey methodologies used to assess vaccine-related perceptions and behaviors;

• Novel approaches for measuring decision-making processes and behavioral determinants surrounding vaccine acceptance or refusal;

• Practical applications and effectiveness of validated measurement tools in public health settings and vaccine intervention strategies.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: vaccine hesitancy, instrument validation, vaccination perception, psychometrics, measurement tools

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.