A pro-vaccine community outreach campaign that uses local advocates and taps into common values can change attitudes among some people who traditionally doubt or refuse vaccines, according to a study published in Vaccine by Katie Attwell and Melanie Freeman of Murdoch University in Perth and of the Immunisation Alliance of Western Australia.
The “I immunise” campaign, conducted in 2014 in Freemantle, Western Australia, featured pro-vaccine testimonials from six community advocates on a website; posters uploaded to the campaign’s Facebook page and distributed to doctors’ offices, child health clinics, child care centers, playgroups, and private businesses; and billboards or large signs displayed on public buildings. Freemantle is one of the country’s lowest areas for vaccination coverage and has a prominent alternative lifestyle community.
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In an online survey of 304 local residents (93 adhering to an alternative lifestyle and 211 following a traditional lifestyle) after the launch of the campaign, results showed that the campaign had polarized attitudes toward vaccination and led some (17%) to feel more negatively. However, it had an overall positive effect for at least 77%, including a third of responders who previously had refused or doubted vaccines. Some parents who responded positively said they would update their own vaccinations, share the campaign on their Facebook pages, or keep their children away from those who were not immunized.
The fact that the campaign had a positive impact on at least three-quarters of the target group “suggests that it has value as one type of influencing tool,” the authors wrote. But “more research is required into how [anti-vaccine] attitudes develop and how communities, governments, and health professionals can effectively challenge them.”
Read the article in Vaccine (2015 Nov 17;33[46]:6235-40).