Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents: Health Education Materials From Research to Practice

Background: Healthcare practitioners are consistently listed as parents’ most trusted and important source of information on vaccines and vaccine safety.  CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) has undertaken a structured series of research projects to learn how best to provide clear, consistent, and timely immunization information to parents, including research on effectively delivering this information to parents via their children’s healthcare providers.

Setting: Ongoing research projects are conducted at both the national and local level within the United States.

Population: Healthcare providers, public health practitioners, and health educators who provide immunizations and/or immunization education to parents, with a focus on parents and caregivers of children under two years of age.

Project Description: NCIRD uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as focus groups, individual interviews, and surveys, to inform the development of educational materials for parents. In 2009, based on information from ongoing research with both parents and healthcare providers, NCIRD launched “Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents” to help healthcare providers and public health professionals support parents in their vaccination decisions. Materials include information targeted to healthcare professionals and parents on vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccines, and vaccine safety.  Formative research with healthcare practitioners and development of additional educational materials continued throughout 2010. Research with healthcare practitioners also addressed the distribution and delivery of these resources.

Results/Lessons Learned: This session will provide information on NCIRD’s up-to-date qualitative and quantitative research on healthcare practitioners’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about vaccination, and share how this research, combined with science-based communications strategies and risk communication principles, is used to inform the development of immunization messages and materials. The session will also discuss marketing and dissemination strategies and the critical role partnerships played in the development, dissemination, and evaluation of these materials.