Across the COVID-19 vaccine programmes, Public Health (PH) had seen inequalities in the uptake of vaccinations amongst certain groups across varying localities and ethnicities.
Using the Population Health Management framework (PHMF), the PH Insights and Evaluation team used Population Health Data to break down and segment the vaccination data, which evidenced a lower uptake in Heston, Feltham and Hounslow as well as amongst pregnant women and residents from Black African and Caribbean communities.
Research
Working together with primary care, communications, engagement and public health, the group agreed areas of focus.
The Health Outreach Team went to areas of low uptake to engage with residents and recorded conversations about barriers to uptake and motivations. The Insights and Evaluation Team thematically analysed the responses to pull out the main barriers to vaccinations and opportunities to support vaccination uptake, matching the findings to behaviour change research and theories.
New Intervention
The group used these findings to develop a variety of interventions to inform communications for the Autumn 2022 vaccination programme including developing local animation videos and a leaflet which answered the most common questions and barriers. The Health Outreach Team also used the low uptake data to inform locations to visit.
Evaluation
The Health Outreach Team successfully vaccinated over 1,400 residents in areas of low uptake in 2022/23, and data evidenced a higher uptake overall in COVID-19 vaccinations.
Residents from low vaccination uptake areas said that the HOT’s presence meant that a quiet and easily accessible setting was created, which they could visit during their work breaks to access clinical activities including vaccinations. This was particularly helpful for middle-aged people with a lot of family and work-related responsibilities and little time to book appointments in out-of-office hours.
Residents also found that the HOT shared information in an approachable and friendly way which made the vaccination process easier to access in the context of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure readings enabled clinicians on the vaccinations bus to also start new conversations about the vaccine.
There is still more to do to reduce inequalities in COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, but the use of data, engagement, research, and evaluation supported the development measurable evidence-based interventions.
The Autumn 2022 campaign evaluation plan measured all comms and engagement outputs and outcomes, and this has further surpported the 2023 campaign.
Next Steps
The winter 2023 campaign is focused on measuring the impact of one geographical target (Heston West).