Let's Talk Vaccines: Developing a Communications Toolkit to Support Effective Provider-Parent Conversations

Background:  Parental concerns about the benefits of timely childhood immunization are increasing. Evidence suggests that child health providers are the most important influence on parental immunization decision-making. Effective resources are needed to improve provider-parent communication about vaccines.

Program background:  Based on several years of pilot work using a social marketing approach, Vax Northwest, a public-private partnership in Washington State, developed an intervention designed to help child health providers address parental vaccine concerns. Our presentation describes the development of one component of this intervention: a toolkit and materials that illustrates how to address parents’ concerns using clear, empathetic language within the time constraints of a heath supervision visit.   Vax Northwest commissioned communications experts (JR, MK) to enhance the toolkit by: 1) packaging the tools for ease of use by providers, 2) making parent information more meaningful and easier to understand, and 3) developing an overall messaging brand to help spark open discussion between providers and parents.  We developed a full-color, two-page guide for providers that includes an illustration of the intervention model and answers to parents’ common questions in plain, conversational language with cues for empathetic statements.  The guide is branded with the logo-tagline “Let’s Talk Vaccines” to prompt conversation in an open, unbiased way.  The logo-tagline is paired with illustrations of birds “chatting” to portray respectful, two-way dialogue.  We also developed several branded giveaway items (a mug, button, clipboard, and notepad) to help providers invite questions from parents.  The toolkit includes a branded, plain-language handout for parents listing reliable sources of vaccine information, with links to blogs and social media and a QR code for downloading the information on a mobile device.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The toolkit and giveaway items were distributed to providers in 30 clinics using a physician-led, CME-style training format; 278 attendees completed evaluation forms at the training.  On a scale of 1 (“poor”) to 7 (“excellent”) 96% of providers rated the quality of the toolkit at 6 or 7.  Among 196 providers who shared open-ended comments on what was most useful about the training, 57% singled out the toolkit—often commenting that it provided clear, specific language and would be useful at the point of care. Many also commented that the giveaway items would be useful. Analyses of primary outcomes—parental vaccine hesitancy and provider self-efficacy in addressing hesitancy—are being evaluated with an ongoing randomized controlled trial. 

Conclusions:  Providers gave very positive initial reactions to the “Let’s Talk Vaccines” toolkit and brand. Using plain, conversational language and simple, inviting imagery, the “Let’s Talk Vaccines” toolkit gives providers a well-received and replicable playbook for confidently and empathetically engaging in a dialogue with vaccine-hesitant parents.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Collaborating with communications experts is a promising strategy for researchers, providers, and public health professionals developing resources to support provider-parent conversations about vaccines.