Community Engagement Matters: Empowering Local Solutions for COVID-19 Immunization Uptake in Western Canada

COVID-19 Research Area(s): Vaccines & Treatments

The University of British Columbia's Innovation Support Unit (ISU) is developing a novel facilitated workshop approach to help communities reduce structural barriers to COVID-19 immunization. The ISU will train and mentor an interprovincial network of workshop facilitators across four Western Provinces, building more local capacity to generate grassroots solutions and enhance vaccination uptake. Through this project, the ISU will adapt its established Primary And Community Care (PACC) community planning tool to create immunization-PACC (iPACC) Mapping. iPACC will bring together local public health officials, primary care providers, community organizations, and municipal and cultural leaders to discuss local barriers and co-design community-driven solutions to enhance vaccine uptake. By taking a patient-centered approach, iPACC workshops will highlight specific structural and equity barriers faced by the local populations. The project will engage communities to adapt their local vaccination programs to better address access barriers and reduce vaccine hesitancy.