by Marina Martinez, WCAAP Program Manager & Christina Hickman
With the recent measles case in Seattle and outbreak in Texas, understanding community perceptions of immunizations and the MMR vaccine has become even more urgent. Locally, WCAAP has been working with communities to increase vaccine uptake. One such group is the local Somali community. Over the last couple of years, WCAAP partnered with trusted Somali leaders, pediatrician Dr. Anisa Ibrahim, Dr. Ahmed Ali, and the Somali Health Board staff to learn from the Somali community, educate providers on common vaccine Q&A and Somali cultural norms, and create culturally competent immunization education materials in Somali to increase vaccine confidence within the Somali community, by the Somali community.
Starting in 2023, WCAAP partnered with the Somali Health Board and Dr. Anisa Ibrahim to begin this process. We interviewed six Somali families, produced two community webinars, and one provider webinar to educate, provide vaccine resources, and increase vaccination rates among Somali patients.
- Based on our interviews, we learned:
- Information is shared, circulated, and accepted within the tight knit Somali community, including false vaccine information targeted at the Somali community.
- Short videos are the preferred method to consume information.
- In order to improve vaccination rates within the community, trust in providers and providers taking the time to learn and answer families’ questions needs improvement.
- WCAAP and partners hosted two community webinars in Somali to educate, debunk myths, and provide a space for questions and vaccine resource sharing. The webinars remain available for viewing on the Somali Health Board’s Facebook page.
- WCAAP and partners also hosted a provider webinar. Providers shared positive feedback that the webinar gave a greater understanding of Somali patients, especially that providing a strong recommendation and taking time to answer questions is essential for vaccine uptake. The webinar was posted can be found here.
Our interviews and webinars provided a strong foundation for us to continue our work with the Somali community. WCAAP, in partnership with the Somali Health Board and Dr. Anisa Ibrahim, continued to collaborate to find new ways to reach the community. To do this, we created new provider-facing and family-facing materials aimed at dispelling common vaccine misconceptions that have persisted in the Somali community.
Patient-Centered Materials: Based on feedback from families during interviews and community listening sessions, multiple versions of materials were created to help address specific concerns. Materials include an immunization infographic in English and Somali, immunization schedule poster in English and Somali, common vaccine concerns, and comic book.
Provider-Facing Materials: A provider-facing FAQ document was produced to enable providers to effectively address common vaccine hesitancy concerns and families’ questions.
Vaccine Hesitancy Video: Based on the patient-centric materials, a short video was created in Somali (with English subtitles) and optimized for sharing on YouTube and Facebook. To date, the video has been played over 13,000 times.
Having access to culturally competent materials makes a real impact. A WCAAP immunization learning collaborative clinic used these materials alongside staff training—their Somali immunization rate improved by 5% over four months.
WCAAP hopes to continue to foster open conversations about vaccines and their benefits. Vaccines are a vital part to keeping Washington’s children—and their families and communities—healthy.