When a research program at the University of Florida (UF) saw a need for improved access for vaccines and vaccine education, the PANDEMIC and OCOH* programs were born.
These programs are powered by UF with help from local community health workers (CHWs) and other partners, including HLM and university extension programs in Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, New York, California, Texas, and Kentucky. This is a really big team, doing really big things!
*PANDEMIC (Program to Alleviate National Disparities in Ethnic and Minority Immunizations in the Community) and OCOH (Our Community Our Health).
The need (vaccine education)
Part of the project was equipping CHWs with engaging, tailored, easy-to-understand vaccine education materials to use with community members in their everyday work. That’s where we came in! Our partnership includes developing these materials in print and on the web.
Our approach
To create these materials, we needed to:
Connect with CHWs to better understand their needs and the needs of people in their communities
Understand how viruses and vaccines work, and the CDC recommendations
Apply health and risk communication best practices and theories
Develop content and materials, including factsheets, videos, social media, and web content
The highlights
As of today, we’ve created over 500 materials about viruses, vaccines, living in a post-COVID world, and mental health topics for community members, including:
Educational factsheets, translated to up to 10 languages
Videos
Social media messages
Door hangers
Event flyers
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