Raising the Profile of Vaccines for Children: Responding to the Economy

Background:  The Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program is a government safety net program created to ensure the availability of vaccines for under- or uninsured children. Because the economic downturn has reduced or eliminated many families’ health care coverage, NACCHO has initiated a campaign that seeks to inform families who are eligible but may not be familiar with VFC.

Setting:  Targeted national and regional radio media markets and printed materials distributed throughout local communities.

Population:  This campaign is directed at parents of children up to 18 years old who may be eligible for VFC.

Project Description:  NACCHO launched an awareness campaign in September 2010 with support from Sanofi Pasteur. NACCHO identified a local health official to conduct a national radio media tour offering interviews in English and Spanish.   60-, 30-, and 15-second public service announcements (PSAs) were developed in English and Spanish which were distributed nationwide. Free posters and tear sheets were developed, promoted, and distributed to local health departments and community partners serving the target population.

Results/Lessons Learned: 

• Conducted 13 radio interviews, encompassing nine media markets and three national networks reaching nearly 2.5 million listeners in one 3-hour interval
• Distributed PSAs to radio stations across the nation, leading to13,166 airings on a range of radio formats to an audience of more than 70 million people (as of November 19)
• Fulfilled orders for posters and tear sheets from 91 local health departments (as of December 1)

By the time of the presentation, NACCHO intends to  gather information to quantify:

• Whether VFC orders increased during the campaign relative to similar time periods in other years
• How PSAs, posters and tear sheets were used and what their impact might have been in local communities