A study in the December 2017 issue of the journal Pediatrics found that pregnant women who were provided with web-based information on vaccines that allowed social media interaction were more likely to vaccinate their infants on time as compared with others in the study.

The study titled, "Web-based Social Media Intervention to Increase Vaccine Acceptance: A Randomized Controlled Trial," enrolled 888 Colorado women in their third trimester of pregnancy and assigned them randomly to one of three groups. One group was provided a web site with factual vaccine information and interactive social media components; the second group was provided a web site with vaccine information but no social media; and the third received usual care. Infants of the study participants were followed from birth to age 200 days. Researchers found that 92.5% of infants who were among the first group (mothers provided with vaccine web site and social media interaction) were up-to-date with their vaccinations as compared with 86.6% of infants whose mothers received usual care.

The study found 91.3% of infants from the web site-only group were vaccinated on time. Parents were more likely to use social media to ask experts to address their specific vaccination concerns, rather than to interact with other parents.

The authors conclude that interactive, informational interventions administered outside of the physician's office during pregnancy can improve vaccine acceptance.