Evidence mapPaperPMID 41818244Full record

Trial reportPloS one2026

A randomized assessment of the impact of 'Those Nerdy Girls' newsletters on adult vaccination outcomes.

Malia Jones, Megan Reilly, Amanda Simanek, Alexis Stewart, Roopa Seshadri, Jennifer B Dowd, Ashley Z Ritter

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Malia JonesDepartment of Community and Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8198-0826
Megan ReillySchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6586-2547
Amanda SimanekDepartment of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Michael Reese Foundation Center for Health Equity Research, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
Alexis StewartDepartment of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
Roopa SeshadriMagnolia Impact Solutions, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Jennifer B DowdNuffield Department of Population Health, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Ashley Z RitterHunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5542-5511

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adult vaccine-preventable infectious diseases contribute substantial burden each year, and vaccine uptake remains suboptimal. As digital health communication grows, digital newsletters may represent a scalable, low-cost tool to promote vaccination. We conducted a randomized prospective study to evaluate the impact of digital newsletters on subscribers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding four adult vaccines: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, shingles, and COVID-19. Between November 2023 and January 2024, half of subscribers to the Those Nerdy Girls (TNG) Substack newsletter received additional vaccine-focused newsletters, while the other half received only the standard twice-weekly newsletters. Pre- and post-intervention online surveys assessed vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among adult subscribers who consented to participate. Across 1,327 pre-intervention and 1,208 post-intervention participants, knowledge gains were observed for RSV and shingles vaccines in the intervention group compared with controls, while knowledge of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines did not improve. Attitudes toward vaccination were generally positive at baseline and showed no significant intervention effects across vaccine types. Likelihood of vaccination increased for influenza, COVID-19, and RSV overall during the study period, but only influenza vaccination showed a significantly greater increase in the intervention group relative to controls. No significant effects were found for shingles vaccination. These results indicated that digital newsletters can improve knowledge and, in some contexts, support uptake, but knowledge gains did not consistently translate into changes in attitudes or behaviors. Findings highlighted the limitations of knowledge-deficit models for adult vaccination promotion. Digital newsletters should be considered as one component of broader public health strategies, particularly when paired with approaches that address logistical access, trust, and social norms.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeVaccinationAdultCOVID-19Digital MediaFemaleHumansInfluenza, HumanMiddle AgedProspective StudiesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID41818244
PMCPMC12981454

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.