Closing the Vaccination Gap: Determinants of Hesitancy, Access, and Uptake in the Digital Era

Vaccination is one of the most effective public health measures for preventing infectious diseases, yet hesitancy, delayed vaccination, unequal access and incomplete uptake remain persistent challenges across the life course. In the digital era, social media and online networks increasingly shape how people seek, evaluate and trust health information, enabling misinformation and polarised communication to spread rapidly and potentially undermine confidence in vaccination programmes. However, vaccination gaps are influenced by more than information exposure alone. Organisational and logistical barriers, socioeconomic deprivation, geographic inequality, health literacy, healthcare access and previous experiences of health services all affect whether, when and how completely people are vaccinated. Recent research has highlighted the interconnected nature of these determinants, while also revealing important gaps in understanding how digital, social, psychological and structural factors combine across different populations and vaccination contexts. Further investigation is needed to identify missed opportunities, explain inequities and generate evidence to guide effective public health education, communication and promotion.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of the determinants of vaccine hesitancy, access and uptake, including digital information environments, healthcare and organisational barriers, and social, psychological, cultural and socioeconomic influences. It will consider how these determinants affect vaccination confidence, decision-making, coverage and timeliness across childhood, adolescence, adulthood, occupational settings and outbreak responses. Contributions may also examine how evidence on barriers and inequities can inform public health education, risk communication, service design and vaccination promotion. We particularly welcome research that identifies, measures or explains gaps in access and uptake, evaluates the implications of these gaps for infectious-disease prevention, and supports the development of more equitable vaccination strategies.To gather further insights into the determinants of vaccination hesitancy, access and uptake across diverse populations, settings and stages of the life course, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:-Digital misinformation, social media influence and vaccine-related health information-Digital and general health literacy in vaccine decision-making-Social, psychological, cultural, political and socioeconomic determinants of vaccination-Vaccine hesitancy, vaccine confidence and delayed or incomplete immunisation-Organisational, logistical, financial and geographic barriers to vaccination-Missed opportunities and coverage or timeliness gaps in childhood, adult and occupational vaccination-Socioeconomic and geographic inequities in vaccination access and uptake-Risk communication, public trust and relationships with health institutions-The role of healthcare professionals, schools, pharmacies and community organisations in vaccination access-Vaccination coverage, timeliness and immunisation registry data as indicators of access and communication needs-Lessons from COVID-19 vaccination campaigns for communication and pandemic preparedness-Policy and governance implications of vaccine hesitancy and unequal accessWe welcome original research, reviews, systematic reviews, methods papers, policy analyses, perspectives and brief research reports. Topic editors: Claudio Fiorilla, Michele Sorrentino Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86424/closing-the-vaccination-gap-determinants-of-hesitancy-access-and-uptake-in-the-digital-era