In the last couple of months Work Package 4 (WP4), the vaccination communication domain, focused on finalizing the two systematics reviews and the healthcare professional communication study.

Systematic reviews

The first systematic review consists of qualitative data (‘qualitative evidence synthesis’). The team explored healthcare workers’ perceptions and experiences of communicating with people over 50 about vaccination. The review included 11 qualitative studies from high income countries. The included healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers delivering vaccine services to older adults) worked at various primary healthcare clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies. The review has been submitted for review to the Cochrane EPOC group. In addition, a flyer was designed to provide implementation considerations based on the results of the review. The flyer can be accessed here.

The second systematic review consists of quantitative data to identify the various educational interventions for healthcare professionals that are effective in increasing vaccination rates among adults. The manuscript will soon be submitted for publication. The review included 51 articles describing a total of 48 unique studies. The majority of the studies were randomized controlled trials conducted in Northern America and included reminder systems. These were also found to be effective in most studies.

Interviewing health care professionals

After a delay of almost a year due to COVID-19, great efforts have been made by all partners on the start of the data collection for the healthcare professional (HCP) study. This study consists of two parts:

  • interview study to explore the attitudes and perspectives and identify information educational needs and learning objectives in the education of HCPs concerning vaccination of older adults
  • explore and visualize the network and its value for HCPs and the information flows between healthcare professionals and vaccinations for older adult.

Data collection is almost finished for the interview study. After this, our effort will focus on analyzing the interview data and the development of the questionnaire for the second part of the study.  All will provide valuable input for the education platform.

The aim of WP4

WP4 focusses on the communication between healthcare professionals and ageing adults on vaccinations. By developing strategies to educate and train healthcare professionals and promote the awareness among stakeholders involved in elderly care management, the team aims to raise awareness on the importance of elderly vaccination.