Abstract
Trust in the context of vaccination is a critical issue in public health. Vaccine coverage is linked to trust in vaccines and entities involved in the vaccination process, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, potential vaccine side effects, mandatory vaccine policies, and the specialized knowledge required to assess vaccine safety create challenges to earning trust. Literature on trust in the context of vaccination is emerging. While various factors supporting trust have been proposed, studies investigating them are limited. This dissertation examined factors that may support trust in the context of vaccination. It contributes to public health by synthesizing relevant literature into a theoretical framework that guides research in three areas: (1) exploring the structure of salient flu vaccine information sources and identifying potential factors supporting trust, (2) examining select factors that may support trust in a specific flu vaccine information source (CDC), and (3) examining select factors that may support trust in a specific flu vaccine information source among sociodemographic subgroups. The results provide preliminary support for (1) perceived trustworthiness, especially information skills, being an important reason that people listed a flu vaccine information source as trusted; (2) perceived trustworthiness, perceived values alignment, vaccine beliefs, and generalized trust being positive predictors of flu vaccine-related trust, and, (3) perceived trustworthiness being an especially important predictor of trust in flu vaccines among NH Black and urban subgroups. The findings expand our understanding of trust determinants in the context of flu vaccines and suggest targeting perceived trustworthiness and vaccine beliefs in efforts to improve trust. Future research should continue to develop our conceptualization of factors that may support trust, examine them in specific public health contexts, and explore how public health entities can better address these factors to earn trust.
Committee Chair
Matthew Kreuter
Committee Members
Amy McQueen; Caitlin McMurtry; Joseph Hamm; Sara Malone
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Author's Department
Generalist Concentration
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
6-23-2026
Language
English (en)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7936/7cv1-xy92
Recommended Citation
Kinzer, Hannah, "Examining Vaccine-Related Trust and Determinants" (2026). School of Public Health Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations. 2.
https://repository.library.washu.edu/sph_etds/2