COVID-19 vaccine awareness in British Columbia: A community-based knowledge dissemination initiative for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, and parents to young children

Limited data on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy, acceptance, and uptake for children and for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding may contribute to vaccine hesitancy in Canada. Considering that vaccine acceptance varies greatly based on knowledge, cultural beliefs, community COVID-19 transmission, and health and community services, it is important to address vaccine confidence and develop locally-relevant interventions that are tailored to community needs. Building on our team's current work to identify and explore COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and concerns among these target groups, the goal of this project is to use a community-based approach to improve COVID-19 vaccine awareness during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and parenthood in BC. In partnership with Interior Health and several community organizations (The Bridge, KCR, PIRS, and MOSAIC), our collaborative team will: (1) engage with equity-deserving community members to explore their needs for targeted COVID-19 vaccine communication; (2) co-design a knowledge mobilization toolkit (e.g. website, infographics, videos, posters) to promote COVID-19 vaccine awareness specific to these communities; and (3) develop, implement, and evaluate a knowledge mobilization strategy to disseminate the toolkit to these target populations in BC. By using community-based approaches to address contextual barriers to vaccination, this study will provide tailored resources for these priority populations to promote COVID-19 vaccine confidence and awareness.