Mental Flexibility: Key to Vaccine Decision-Making

Recent research highlights the role of mental flexibility in health-related decision-making, particularly vaccination attitudes. While New Zealand's external vaccine access barriers are minimal, internal factors like cognitive styles significantly influence vaccine hesitancy. Health education campaigns could improve by addressing individual cognitive processing styles to enhance mental flexibility.

Mental flexibility has emerged as a significant factor in health-related decision-making, especially regarding vaccine attitudes. A recent study in New Zealand indicates that while external barriers to vaccine access are minimal, internal cognitive factors heavily influence hesitancy among the population.

Research shows that individuals with higher mental flexibility are better at adapting to new or changing information, impacting their openness to vaccination. Conversely, those with lower flexibility reported more internal concerns, such as distrust or fear of side effects.

These findings suggest that simply providing factual information may not suffice. Health education campaigns could be more effective by considering cognitive styles, potentially framing information in ways that provoke critical thinking and enhance mental flexibility, ultimately fostering more favorable health decisions.

(With inputs from agencies.)