Research Article

An assessment of the health belief model, vaccine hesitancy, and credible sources of health messages during flu season

Saud A. Alsulaiman 1 * , Ezaddeen S. Almutairi 1
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1 Department of Mass Communication, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 16(4), October 2026, e202647, https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/19268
Published: 17 September 2026
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ABSTRACT

This study incorporated the World Health Organization’s adult vaccine hesitancy scale and the health belief model to determine the relationships between vaccine hesitancy, individual perceptions, and vaccine uptake during the flu season between September 2023 and March 2024 at a large university in Saudi Arabia. The study also investigated information-seeking behaviors, the credibility of flu messages disseminated by health authorities, and adherence to flu preventive measures among individuals. This quantitative study used a purposive online survey sent via research email service to students, faculty, and staff (N = 1,130) at a large university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Multiple statistical tests were conducted, including multiple linear regression, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney tests. Findings indicated that 45% of individuals first turned to Internet search engines for health information about the flu and believed that public health authorities were credible sources compared to other sources, such as traditional and social media. Findings also showed that the HBM and age significantly predicted vaccine hesitancy. Age and sex did not predict vaccine uptake among participants. Respondents reported strong health beliefs, low vaccine hesitancy, and perceived flu messages as credible. Although individuals reported high health beliefs and low vaccine hesitancy, the flu vaccine uptake in Saudi Arabia remains a concern. The study highlighted the discrepancy between positive health beliefs and actual vaccination behavior, shedding light on effective strategies for tackling the issue of suboptimal vaccine uptake in the country.
Keywords: health belief model, vaccine hesitancy, information-seeking, credibility of flu messages, preventive measures

CITATION (APA)

Alsulaiman, S. A., & Almutairi, E. S. (2026). An assessment of the health belief model, vaccine hesitancy, and credible sources of health messages during flu season. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 16(4), e202647. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/19268

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