The University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center has two teams working to increase confidence in the COVID-19 and Influenza vaccines with Latinx, Hispanic, Native American, and black populations around the state. The two teams are Vaccinate with Confidence Project and REACH COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Project, who are both conducting listening sessions and creating culturally appropriate educational opportunities for priority populations to boost knowledge and confidence of vaccines.
See the tabs below to learn more about each project.
The Vaccinate with Confidence Project aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national Vaccine Confidence Network efforts to translate best practices from behavorial science to improve immunization programming. The main objective of this project is to better understand the perspectives and experiences of Hispanic/Latinx (specifically Spanish-speaking immigrants) communities regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
The PRC team is working with four NM counties: Bernalillo, Guadalupe, Roosevelt and Chaves county. The first phase of this project entailed conducing Rapid Community Assessements (RCA, a tool provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in each of these four NM counties. The PRC team is working closely with the NM Department of Health (NMDoH Vaccine Equity) and collaborating with local community-based organizations and health councils in these four counties. In Bernalillo county, the community partners are Encuentro, One Hope Centro de Vida, and Centro Sávila; In Guadalupe, Roosevelt, and Chaves counties, the community partners are the local health councils.
The second phase of this project utilizes the formative research of the RCA to develop a social marketing intervention strategy to increase confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, a community-based educational series was developed and conducted in collaboration with the community partner organizations. The premise is simply to initiate a dialogue on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This effort not only offers Hispanic/Latinx communities an opportunity to voice their questions/concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, but also addresses some of the main questions/concerns in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. In doing so, it will cultivate and equip Hispanic/Latinx leaders and messengers to share accurate COVID-19 information within these communities. This strategy may be an effective way of addressing the most salient barriers these communities face when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination.
For more information, please see the infographics and visit the links:
In collaboration with Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS) Community Health, partners in the Bernalillo County Healthy Here Project, and other respected community leaders, the UNM Prevention Research Center (PRC) is actively engaged in the REACH COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Project. The project is a supplemental grant to the Racial and Ethic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Healthy Here grant and focuses on understanding the barriers to and concerns about the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. The project is especially focused on understanding how to increase vaccine confidence in the Hispanic, Native American and black populations in the state. The UNM PRC is working with PHS Community Health to conduct 12 listening sessions with these priority populations. The information shared by the community participants is contributing to our knowledge of community concerns and how we can best address them. We are also learning about trusted messengers and messages when it comes to keeping communities healthy.
Check out the latest COVID REACH presentation (click on image)
Read the latest REACH COVID-19 Listening Session Report
