Los sesgos cognitivos en la comunicación provacunas. Un estudio de la página de vacunación de la COVID-19 del Gobierno de España

BACKGROUND: Health communication aims to modify attitudes and behaviors, which is why it uses, among others, persuasive strategies and the use of cognitive biases. Both elements have been investigated in previous studies, however, no research precedents have been found that evaluate government messages from both perspectives at the same time. The objective of this research was to analyze the type of information related to the COVID-19 vaccination that was distributed on the official page of the Government of Spain, evaluating its persuasive capacity and the use of cognitive biases as tools against vaccination reluctance. METHODS: The information from the official page on vaccination of COVID-19 of the Government of Spain was analysed, taking into account both its structure and the content of the information. Special attention was paid to the communication strategy developed to develop pro-vaccine messages. RESULTS: First, the information coming from the Government was presented in a concise, clear and simple way on a well-structured webpage. Second, the content shared revolved around certain recurring themes such as the benefits and the vaccination process. Third, the content had a highly scientific nature and was supported by arguments to overthrow cognitive biases against vaccination. Lastly, the communication strategy was based on content that were more informative (rational) than persuasive (emotional). CONCLUSIONS: Knowing the techniques of persuasion and the implication of cognitive biases, especially in the area of vaccination, will help guide communication strategies in Public Health.