EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HEALTH DATA INSIGHTS
Review Article
Aug 11, 2026 2 1

Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness

Kunle Akanbi 1 * ,
Chisom Olivia Emenuga 2,
Onyekachi Uchenna Uchejuru 3,
Ziyadat Temitope Ekundayo 4,
Emmanuel Udochukwu 5,
Edna Beverla 6,
Amosa Sulyman Olayinka 7
1 Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, National Louis University, Tampa, FL, USA2 Department of Medicine and Surgery, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 3 Department of Public Health, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria 4 Department of Economics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA5 College of Nursing Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA6 Information Services Department, Okere District Assembly, Accra, Ghana 7 Department of Community Medicine, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria * Corresponding Author
Epidemiology and Health Data Insights, 2(5), 2026, ehdi052, https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
Publication date: Aug 11, 2026
Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Effective vaccine communication has become a defining challenge of global health emergency preparedness, as scientific advances in vaccine development have not been accompanied by comparable gains in public trust. Experiences from recent outbreaks, particularly Ebola, COVID-19, and mpox, demonstrate that vaccine availability alone is insufficient to achieve high vaccine uptake when communication is inconsistent, misinformation proliferates, and public confidence in health institutions is weakened. This narrative review critically synthesizes current evidence to examine the determinants of public trust, evaluate the strengths and limitations of existing vaccine communication strategies, and identify priorities for future research and policy. The review highlights five interconnected determinants of effective vaccine communication: institutional transparency, evidence-based messaging, trusted community partnerships, digital information monitoring, and continuous communication adaptation. It further identifies persistent challenges, including reactive communication approaches, political polarization, inequitable access to trustworthy information, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence-driven misinformation. Current evidence is also limited by the predominance of cross-sectional studies, underrepresentation of low- and middle-income countries, and insufficient evaluation of long-term trust-building interventions. To address these challenges, we propose the Adaptive Vaccine Trust Communication (AVTC) Framework, which conceptualizes vaccine communication as a continuous adaptive process rather than a one-way transfer of information. By integrating institutional transparency, evidence-based messaging, trusted community partnerships, digital information monitoring, and continuous feedback, the framework provides a practical roadmap for strengthening public trust, improving vaccine confidence, and enhancing preparedness for future global health emergencies.

KEYWORDS

Vaccine Communication Public Trust Vaccine Confidence Global Health Emergencies Pandemic Preparedness

CITATION (Vancouver)

Akanbi K, Emenuga CO, Uchejuru OU, Ekundayo ZT, Udochukwu E, Beverla E, et al. Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness. Epidemiology and Health Data Insights. 2026;2(5):ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
APA
Akanbi, K., Emenuga, C. O., Uchejuru, O. U., Ekundayo, Z. T., Udochukwu, E., Beverla, E., & Olayinka, A. S. (2026). Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness. Epidemiology and Health Data Insights, 2(5), ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
Harvard
Akanbi, K., Emenuga, C. O., Uchejuru, O. U., Ekundayo, Z. T., Udochukwu, E., Beverla, E., and Olayinka, A. S. (2026). Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness. Epidemiology and Health Data Insights, 2(5), ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
AMA
Akanbi K, Emenuga CO, Uchejuru OU, et al. Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness. Epidemiology and Health Data Insights. 2026;2(5), ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
Chicago
Akanbi, Kunle, Chisom Olivia Emenuga, Onyekachi Uchenna Uchejuru, Ziyadat Temitope Ekundayo, Emmanuel Udochukwu, Edna Beverla, and Amosa Sulyman Olayinka. "Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness". Epidemiology and Health Data Insights 2026 2 no. 5 (2026): ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127
MLA
Akanbi, Kunle et al. "Rebuilding Public Trust Through Strategic Vaccine Communication: Lessons from Recent Global Health Emergencies and a Framework for Future Pandemic Preparedness". Epidemiology and Health Data Insights, vol. 2, no. 5, 2026, ehdi052. https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/19127

REFERENCES

  1. Shattock AJ, Johnson HC, Sim SY, Carter A, Lambach P, Hutubessy RCW, et al. Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization. Lancet. 2024;403(10441):2307–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00850-X
  2. Graham BS. Rapid COVID-19 vaccine development. Science. 2020;368(6494):945–6. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8923
  3. World Health Organization. Ten threats to global health in 2019 [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019 [cited 2026 Jul 10]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019
  4. de Figueiredo A, Simas C, Karafillakis E, Paterson P, Larson HJ. Mapping global trends in vaccine confidence and investigating barriers to vaccine uptake: a large-scale retrospective temporal modelling study. Lancet. 2020;396(10255):898–908. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31558-0
  5. Loomba S, de Figueiredo A, Piatek SJ, de Graaf K, Larson HJ. Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA. Nat Hum Behav. 2021;5(3):337–48. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01056-1
  6. Fortunato P, Lombini A. Behind political affiliation: how moral values, identity politics, and party loyalty have affected COVID-19 vaccination. PLOS ONE. 2025;20(9):e0330881. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330881
  7. Vinck P, Pham PN, Bindu KK, Bedford J, Nilles EJ. Institutional trust and misinformation in the response to the 2018–19 Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, DR Congo: a population-based survey. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019;19(5):529–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30063-5
  8. Choi Y, Fox AM. Communities at risk for mpox and stigmatizing policies: a randomized survey, Republic of Korea, 2022. Am J Public Health. 2023;113(10):1120–7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307368
  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mpox equity and anti-stigma toolkit [Internet]. Atlanta: CDC; 2023 [cited 2026 Jul 10]. Available from: https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/poxvirus/mpox/resources/toolkits/equity.html
  10. Lazarus JV, Ratzan SC, Palayew A, Gostin LO, Larson HJ, Rabin K, et al. A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Nat Med. 2021;27(2):225–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1124-9
  11. Solís Arce JS, Warren SS, Meriggi NF, Scacco A, McMurry N, Voors M, et al. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in low- and middle-income countries. Nat Med. 2021;27(8):1385–94. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01454-y
  12. Vosoughi S, Roy D, Aral S. The spread of true and false news online. Science. 2018;359(6380):1146–51. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559
  13. Menz BD, Kuderer NM, Bacchi S, Modi ND, Chin-Yee B, Hu T, et al. Current safeguards, risk mitigation, and transparency measures of large language models against the generation of health disinformation: repeated cross-sectional analysis. BMJ. 2024;384:e078538. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-078538
  14. Kreps SE, Kriner DL. Model uncertainty, political contestation, and public trust in science: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Adv. 2020;6(43):eabd4563. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4563
  15. World Health Organization. Managing the COVID-19 infodemic: promoting healthy behaviours and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020 [cited 2026 Jul 10]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/23-09-2020-managing-the-covid-19-infodemic-promoting-healthy-behaviours-and-mitigating-the-harm-from-misinformation-and-disinformation
  16. Broniatowski DA, Jamison AM, Qi S, AlKulaib L, Chen T, Benton A, et al. Weaponized health communication: Twitter bots and Russian trolls amplify the vaccine debate. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(10):1378–84. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567
  17. Gilmore B, Ndejjo R, Tchetchia A, de Claro V, Mago E, Diallo AA, et al. Community engagement for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid evidence synthesis. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(10):e003188. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003188
  18. Golos AM, Hopkins DJ, Bhanot SP, Buttenheim AM. Partisanship, messaging, and the COVID-19 vaccine: evidence from survey experiments. Am J Health Promot. 2022;36(4):602–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171211049241
  19. Brewer NT, Chapman GB, Rothman AJ, Leask J, Kempe A. Increasing vaccination: putting psychological science into action. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2017;18(3):149–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618760521
  20. Sallam M. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide: a concise systematic review of vaccine acceptance rates. Vaccines (Basel). 2021;9(2):160. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020160

LICENSE

Creative Commons License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.