The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a significant risk to the health of our communities – growing skepticism of and waning confidence in all vaccines for disease prevention. This decline extends beyond the COVID-19 vaccines and into routine vaccinations for dangerous diseases, including influenza, measles, tetanus and even polio – which was thought to be eradicated in the United States decades ago.
Through a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and in collaboration with the AAMC, several of the nation’s leading academic medical centers have developed successful models showing how medical schools, teaching hospitals, and health system leaders can partner with public health departments, social services agencies, and community organizations and leaders to successfully promote confidence in the COVID-19 and other routine vaccines and increase vaccinations around the country.
The video case studies below highlight the key insights, partnerships, and strategies that medical centers community leaders and organizations can effectively use to shift attitudes and alter behaviors in their community, including:
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How to boost the efficacy of educational outreach programs by collecting data on the concerns and attitudes of community members.
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The techniques used to communicate and structure complicated concepts into compelling and easily digestible formats.
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The results of training Health Champions to extend the reach of quality vaccine and immunology information deeper into communities.
The best practices highlighted in these case studies will help leaders at medical and community organizations partner to implement effective collaborations to improve health outcomes and prevent the spread of disease in their own communities.
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Broadening vaccine access through mobile health clinics.
University of Miami College of Medicine partners with the Children's Health Fund to provide access to vaccines and other comprehensive health care services.
Watch how the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Children's Health Fund partner to build vaccine confidence and improve access to pediatric vaccines utilizing mobile medical clinics particularly in areas with transportation and other access challenges.
Related Resources:
- AAMC's Partnership With Children's Health Fund to Support Mobile Health Clinics
- SHOTZ-2-GO
- VaccineVoices.org: The Importance of Removing Vaccination Barriers for Newly Immigrated Kids
- VaccineVoices.org: Helping Immigrants Overcome Vaccine Challenges
Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships Subgrantees:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Building trust through storytelling and community events.
Watch how the Albert Einstein College of Medicine – through the AAMC’s Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships grant program – partnered with the Pandemic Project to engage 2,000+ South Bronx community members to alleviate fear, confusion, and inaction around vaccines.
Related Resources:
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“What matters to us: Bridging research and accurate information through dialogue (BRAID) to build community trust and cultivate vaccine confidence” (Science Direct, August 2023)
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Increasing community vaccinations through health champions.
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine engages community and faith-based organizations to listen and learn about building trust in pediatric vaccines.
Watch how the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine – through the AAMC’s Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships grant program – teamed up with local organizations and the Cincinnati Health Department to increase the vaccination rates in targeted communities by a staggering 12% using health champions and storytelling.
Related Resources:
- “Using Technology to Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy” (PubMed, April 2023)
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Voices for Vaccines storybook: https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/
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Voices for Vaccines resources, including a newsletter, advocacy toolkit, and more: https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/resources/
Washington State University (Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine)
Increasing access to comprehensive health care through community focused events.
Watch how Washington State University (Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine) – through the AAMC’s Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships grant program – partnered with CHAS Health and Latinos en Spokane to host El Mercadito, the biggest Hispanic market in Spokane, to offer vaccinations and health care to Spokane community members.
Related Resources:
About the AAMC and its member institutions' efforts to build trust and confidence in communities:
In 2021, the AAMC was awarded a cooperative agreement from the CDC to promote confidence in COVID-19 and routine pediatric vaccines, increase vaccination uptake around the country, and address issues of medical mistrust and misinformation.
Read more for additional resources created through the AAMC’s CDC cooperative agreement.
Through this cooperative agreement, the AAMC also created the Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships grant program to promote stronger cross-sector collaboration between its member institutions, public health departments, social services agencies, and community-based organizations to support efforts to build trust and confidence in COVID-19 a nd routine vaccines, and increase vaccinations – especially in children and adolescents. Each team is led by an AAMC-member medical school or teaching hospital and includes public health departments, social service agencies, and faith- or community-based organizations.
Read more about the AAMC’s Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships grant program. As part of the work, Institute for Patient- And Family-Centered Care developed a 4-part video series to increase understanding of ways to partner with families from diverse communities to build trust in vaccines and other aspects of health care. Learn more here.
Please contact us if you have questions about this video series or would like more information on how your institution can build trust and confidence through community partnerships.