Who would take part in a pandemic preparedness cohort study? The role of vaccine-related affective polarisation: Cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Cohort studies are an important tool for public health research about emerging infectious diseases. Willingness to participate in research is associated with multiple factors. Little is known about the role of people’s feelings, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Affective polarisation, an affinity for people with similar attitudes to oneself and hostility toward those with opposing views, is a measure of feelings about issues, including COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with willingness to participate in a future household-based cohort study on pandemic preparedness. We did a cross-sectional online survey in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. We invited a random sample of persons aged 18 + years from 15,000 private households. We asked about willingness to take part and collected data about demographic, social and household characteristics, and affective polarisation related to COVID-19 vaccination. We performed univariable and multivariable analyses, weighted by household size to estimate odds ratios (with 95% confidence intervals, CI). Among responders, 49.8% (95% CI 47.9–51.8, weighted proportion) were willing to take part in a cohort study. In multivariable analysis, higher educational level (adjusted odds ratio 2.48, 95% CI 1.81–3.39) and higher monthly income (1.92, 1.39–2.65) were most strongly associated with higher willingness to participate. Opposition to COVID-19 vaccination was associated with lower willingness to participate (0.53, 0.39–0.72). Affective polarisation modified the relationship between vaccination attitudes and willingness to participate. Compared with non-polarised vaccination supporters, polarised supporters were more willing to participate (marginal adjusted odds ratio 1.51, 1.05–2.16), whereas willingness to participate was lower among both non-polarised (0.53, 0.32–0.86) and affectively polarised (0.26, 0.12–0.56) vaccination opposers. Willingness to participate in a cohort study was moderate. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing affective polarisation, as well as socioeconomic factors, is needed to improve participation in pandemic preparedness research.