From casual activist to parent on a mission: Lessons learned in a three-year pilot; training parents as vaccination advocates

Research demonstrates that second to a doctor’s recommendation, social networks are a strong leading influence on parents’ vaccine decision making. Based on this, Vax Northwest, a public-private partnership led by WithinReach, undertook a three-year community engagement intervention called the Immunity Community to test whether parents who vaccinate could be provided the training, tools, and technical assistance to be successful as advocates in their own communities to influence their hesitant peers. The goal of the Immunity Community intervention is to increase conversations about the positive aspects of vaccination and to encourage parents to embrace vaccination as a community priority. Evaluation findings thus far suggest that parents who vaccinate can be mobilized and engaged as advocates given the appropriate resources and support. This presentation will detail lessons learned in working with and retaining parent advocates over the past three years including strategies for recruitment, training, ongoing supervision, management and program evaluation.