STOPS and multivariate hierarchical aglomerative clustering: segmentation of the public regarding children’s vaccinaton communication in Slovenia

Purpose From a public health perspective, vaccination programmes significantly add to long-term, safe co-existence. However, because there is no social consensus about their benefits and risks, the promotion of vaccinations is difficult. Based on Kim and Grunig’s situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), including communicative action in problem solving (CAPS), this paper both proposes a model for identifying the involvement of mothers of young children in communication regarding vaccination and advocates for a novel approach to STOPS and CAPS data analyses. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design develops empirical analyses of the data yielded by the STOPS model. Two approaches to determining associations between situational-motivational variables and communicative-action variables in random-sample survey data obtained in Slovenia in 2016 ( N  = 1704) are implemented – i.e. visual methods and multivariate agglomerative clustering algorithm. Findings The STOPS model has been confirmed and both data-analyses approaches have shown potential by clearly demonstrating associations and patterns in the data. Based on these findings, we conclude that they have the potential to be the norm in analysing STOPS models. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study, which are still to be overcome, involve drawing on one sample in one country and testing only one set of indicators. Practical implications From an academic point of view, confirmation of both the model and the analytical power of the pragmatic data-analyses methods significantly add to communication studies. From practical and social points of view, relationships among attitudes and communication behaviour, as outlined in the exposed segments of the public, enable the improvement of every step in strategic-communication planning and implementation. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to establish a theoretical framework and methodology of segmentation in vaccination-communication studies.