Immunization Partnership Fund

Alberta

19 to Zero

Building Vaccine Confidence Amongst Newcomers in Canada: Educating Parents on School-Based Vaccination Programs

The project will partner with newcomer-serving organizations to educate families on the critical role that school-based programs play in keeping children current with their vaccinations. This involves tailoring pre-existing educational resources as well as developing new resources that specifically meet the needs of newcomers. These resources will be available in multiple languages and easily accessible through pre-existing information pathways within the school and health systems.

• Newcomer parents and their children (under 18) in Alberta

$200,000.00

Calgary, Alberta

Action 4 Humanity

East African Community Health Awareness

The project will aim to increase vaccine confidence by:

• addressing vaccine hesitancy;
• debunking misinformation among the East African community; and
• providing accurate and culturally sensitive information about vaccines.

This will lead to improved attitudes towards immunizations and a higher willingness to vaccinate against respiratory illnesses. The project will emphasize the importance of routine immunizations, including childhood vaccinations, through:

• video campaigns;
• educational materials; and
• social media platforms.

This will raise awareness about the value and benefits of routine vaccinations. Community members will be encouraged to prioritize their health and the health of their children.

• East African community in Canada

$160,000.00

Victoria, British Columbia

African Arts & Cultural Community Contributor (AACCCS)

Increasing Confidence, Uptake and Access to Respiratory Vaccines amongst BC's population

The project will increase awareness about respiratory diseases within British Columbia's Black communities. It will also address lower flu shot uptake given the heightened susceptibility to flu among this group. The project's approach will involve:

• analyzing data on flu shot trends;
• creating informative infographics for distribution; and
• collaborating with subject matter experts for education.

Additionally, engagement with community leaders and participation in a community art contest will help promote the importance of flu vaccination. The project will use comprehensive education and engaging outreach to:

• reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase uptake; and
• narrow knowledge gaps related to respiratory illnesses and vaccines.

Through a multifaceted strategy, the project will aim to improve health equity and increase flu vaccination rates among British Columbia's Black communities. The project will empower people with information on respiratory illnesses and the importance of vaccinations. The goal is to cause a collective shift in attitudes toward vaccination, effectively countering hesitancy and encouraging proactive health measures within the community.

• Black population in British Columbia

$100,000.00

Calgary, Alberta

Alberta International Medical Graduates Association (AIMGA)

Increasing vaccine literacy and promotion among newcomer communities

The project will focus on promoting vaccines against respiratory viruses, such as flu and measles, and catch-up vaccinations, such as:

• HPV;
• tetanus; and
• childhood vaccinations.

AIMGA and its partner organizations will assist:

• newcomer families in need of routine immunizations and
• newcomers who have difficulties accessing vaccine-related information and require navigation supports.

The project will employ internationally trained physicians from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds as vaccine navigators. They will collaborate with newcomer-serving organizations, health professionals and provincial health service providers to improve the outreach and impact of the project.

• Newcomers (including non-economic immigrants, refugees, temporary migrant workers)
• Individuals without tertiary education
• Individuals with limited financial means
• Seniors
• Individuals with limited social networks in Canada.

$220,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Alliance for Healthier Communities

Community Vaccination Promotion – Ontario (CVP-ON)

The project will increase health equity through the prevention of vaccine preventable diseases among Ontarians who experience barriers to healthcare by offering capacity-building opportunities for healthcare providers. This will allow health care providers to have important conversations with patients and their caregivers regarding immunization. It will also allow healthcare providers to partner with community ambassadors in a community health initiative. The project will target differential uptakes of vaccines due to a complex array of barriers that are attitudinal, structural, organizational, logistical, cultural and social.

The alliance will support the work of participating centres by:

• sharing information and resources;
• continuing the community of practice; and
• fostering opportunities to build skills and knowledge.

These resources will now include recommended vaccines across the course of life. Participating centres will develop new information and promotional resources that address the needs of populations who face barriers as well as their healthcare providers and other community leaders.

• Francophones (with a focus on racialized and newcomer communities),
• Children,
• Ceniors,
• Newcomers, refugees, asylum seekers,
• Individuals in need of but currently without a primary care provider,
• People experiencing homelessness, low-income populations, racialized communities,
• Black community

$220,000.00

National

Atira

Empowering Communities: A Peer-Led Vaccine and Immunization Program

The project will address healthcare challenges among women who face multiple social determinants of health to:

• promote vaccinations;
• build trust in healthcare; and
• enhance vaccine confidence.

Driven by the positive impact of peer involvement on vaccination rates, the project will leverage peers to address vaccine hesitancy through education and support. Respiratory infections pose substantial risks to vulnerable residents in social housing due to cramped living, aging structures, and limited health support. The project's expansion to include respiratory vaccines will aim to address these concerns, extending the successful model to enhance overall community well-being.

The initiative will tap into existing peer expertise allowing them to further their vaccine knowledge. The expansion also welcomes new diverse peers, capable of connecting with women from different backgrounds, fostering inclusivity. These trained peers drive program design, implementation, and evaluation, which enhances engagement through outreach.

The project will also turn its findings and insights into a comprehensive best practices document, developed using a culturally appropriate diversity and equity lens. This document will serve as a valuable resource for reducing vaccine hesitancy among women who have experienced interpersonal or systemic violence.

• Women who have experienced violence, abuse, or marginalization
• Older women
• Those facing barriers to healthcare access

$150,000.00

National

Canadian Association of Midwives

We can talk about it: Midwives addressing vaccine hesitancy

The project will address vaccine uptake and hesitancy, specifically focusing on vaccinations against respiratory illnesses and catch-up vaccinations across the life course. Moreover, the project will develop training and tools and evidence-based information for healthcare providers while supporting a community of practice and strengthen the micro-contribution mechanism used in the previous project.

They will enhance community-based education and outreach by addressing gaps in public understanding and perspectives on vaccination. The project will have a specific focus on pregnant people and underserved and marginalized populations. It will focus on strengthening the ability to communicate evidence-based information about vaccination. This involves:

• creating communication tools to facilitate informed discussions on vaccines and
• developing customized, evidence-based materials targeted at pregnant people to enhance their confidence in and acceptance of vaccines.

• Pregnant individuals and those of reproductive age, addressing hesitancy and concerns related to pregnancy and fertility
• Midwifery associations and clinics
• Midwives, including those serving equity-seeking clients

$225,000.00

National

Canadian Association of Science Centres - ScienceUpFirst

Addressing Vaccine Misinformation: Reaching a National Audience and Equity Deserving Communities

The project will develop a comprehensive online campaign to address and dispel science and vaccine misinformation. With the rise of misinformation and disinformation in recent years, exposure to inaccurate health information has become a common experience for many people across Canada. This campaign aims to provide audiences with accessible science-backed information to help make informed decisions related to vaccines. ScienceUpFirst will partner with a diverse group of 5 to 10 national and community-based content creators. Together we will develop a strong, engaging and effective online campaign that addresses vaccine misinformation on online channels including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.

• Anglophone and francophone youth (ages 18-22)
• 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
• Women/caregivers (ages 24-50)
• Indigenous, Black, and South Asian communities

$225,000.00

National

Children Healthcare Canada

Vaccine Equity in Pediatrics: Taking Our Best Shot Together (the VIP project)

The VIP Project will continue to improve and further develop the capacity of healthcare providers as:

• vaccinators;
• vaccine promoters; and
• evidence-informed vaccine communicators.

This will help them continue to promote equitable respiratory and other childhood vaccine acceptance and uptake. The project will also further build the capacity of healthcare professionals to promote the equitable acceptance and uptake of life-saving vaccines and ultimately improve the health of all children, families, and communities. To do this, they will:

• leverage existing platforms and credible messengers;
• convene and connect child health partners (including other IPF recipients); and
• identify, co-create, tailor, and align evidence-informed key messages and resources for healthcare professionals.

• Healthcare professionals

$230,000.00

National

CIUSSS de l'Estrie - CHUS

Motivational Interviewing to Increase Knowledge about VACcination (MIIKOVAC)

The aim of the project is to implement an effective and accessible approach to promoting childhood immunization to all parents in Canada. The project also aims to counter the susceptibility of parents to misinformation. The project's approach is based on the success of the EMMIE program, Quebec's program to promote childhood vaccination. The project will offer virtual advice tailored to parents' needs, using a motivational interviewing approach, with the aim of increasing parents' intention to have their child vaccinated and reducing their hesitancy. The project aims to change parents' vaccination behavior in order to close the gaps in childhood vaccination coverage in Canada, and thus improve demand for routine childhood vaccines. In addition, by addressing misinformation in discussions with advisors, parents will be able to demystify false beliefs about vaccines, ensure they have access to scientifically validated information, and become aware of the consequences of misinformation.

• English and French-speaking parents
• The virtual intervention will be offered in both official languages, and will address the concerns of all parents living in Canada, helping them to make the right decisions. Promotional campaigns in elementary schools across Canada will enable us to reach as many parents as possible. In this context, the proposed approach will be useful in helping parents from all walks of life who are reluctant to have their child vaccinated.

$185,000.00

National

Digital Public Square

Leveraging Digital Tools to Increase Vaccine Confidence and Adoption

The project will expand on the previous work related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy to address hesitancy towards a range of respiratory and routine immunizations in Canada. The project will leverage existing digital tools designed to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and adapt these platforms to increase confidence in, and acceptance of, routine immunizations. Central to this project are collaborations with Black and Indigenous communities to develop community-informed and evidence-based approaches to vaccination education.

• Black Canadians
• Indigenous Canadians

$234,000.00

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Discovery Centre

Amplifying Trusted Voices

The project seeks to enhance vaccine confidence among equity-deserving communities in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada by:

• engaging community leadership;
• co-creating culturally relevant resources with trusted members of each community; and
• delivering educational outreach activities in alignment with community-based events and initiatives.

• People of African descent
• Mi'kmaq
• 2SLGBTQIA+ communities

$100,000.00

National (online delivery)

Dr. Gupta Medicine Professional Corporation

Meet Them Where They're At: Using Science Communication to Rebuild Trust In Vaccines

The project will create a series of evidence-based long- and short-form videos on various vaccine topics. These videos will aim to debunk common myths, build trust, and empower people to make science-based vaccine decisions for themselves and their young children. This original content will be widely spread through targeted social media campaigns.

• General public (with a focus on millennial and Gen Z populations)
• Vaccinators, vaccine promoters, and other science communication organizations

$100,000.00

National

Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation

Improving Low-Barrier Access to Vaccines for Underserved Populations: Vaccine Micro-Contributions and Community of Practice for Community-Based HealthCare Providers

The project will support community-based healthcare providers across Canada to support marginalized populations in gaining confidence and equitable access to important vaccines. The project will utilize a low-barrier, integrated healthcare approach and will provide micro-contributions to 4 organizations across Canada. Using these micro-contributions, each organization will develop strategies for promoting confidence and equitable access to vaccinations. The project will also convene a national community of practice to discuss challenges and generate solutions to key practice issues related to improving vaccine confidence and equitable access.

• Community-based healthcare providers who work with underserved or marginalized populations across Canada.

$250,000.00

Cornwall, Ontario

Eastern Ontario Health Unit

Promoting digital communication for primary care providers to educate and engage patients with evidence-based information on vaccination

The project will partner with the Canadian Primary care Information Network to engage primary care providers across the country. The campaign will contain evidence-based vaccine messages for their adult patients to boost preventive vaccine uptake. The project will address the pressing need for effective vaccination communication to reduce vaccine preventable infections ahead of the 2023 fall and 2024 winter periods. It will seek to empower primary care providers as vaccinators and vaccine promotors by providing them with high-quality, timely, culturally appropriate, and evidence-based digital messages on:

• catch-up vaccinations,
• COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines.

This approach will leverage existing infrastructure, partnerships, and initial IPF insights to:

• engage patients;
• empower primary care providers; and
• and mitigate vaccine-preventable illness burdens in upcoming seasons.

By bridging public health and primary care, the project will establish a sustainable model for effective health communication and vaccine promotion.

• Patients of primary care providers across Canada

$174,999.00

National

Families Canada

Increasing Vaccine Confidence through Enhancing Capacity of Family Support Service Providers - Phase 2

The project will aim to improve demand for vaccines by building the capacity of family support service providers to:

• increase their knowledge, understanding of, and confidence in vaccines and
• increase their access to evidence-based, culturally appropriate resources that will be disseminated to the marginalized families they serve.

• Family support service providers and marginalized families

$225,000.00

British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec

Federation of Black Canadians

Black Health Defense: Empowering Community through Fall and in Winter

The project will build off the success of the previous COVID-19 outreach campaign. It will implement a new campaign with the goal of encouraging routine vaccination uptake within the various Black communities across Canada. The project will seek to:

• increase accessibility to information around vaccines,
• facilitate discourse with the support of regional partners,
• bring together and engage stakeholders in the healthcare sector and
• ensure timely updates and long-term accuracy of the resources published.

The new outreach program will complement ongoing efforts to fight misinformation around vaccines within the Black community. It will ensure that members of the Black community can make informed vaccination related choices and have access to those services should they be needed.

• Black-identifying population in urban areas of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Québec

$110,000.00

Fraser East and North Surrey, British Columbia

Fraser Health Authority (British Columbia)

Testing Outreach Clinic Models to Increase Respiratory Vaccine Uptake Among Children

The project aims to:

• increase influenza and COVID-19 immunization coverage rates among 0 - 4 year olds in the Fraser Health region and
• reduce inequities in access to vaccinations for children and their families.

The project will analyze data from the 2022 to 2023 respiratory season to identify priority populations with lower influenza and COVID-19 vaccination rates. Public health nurses will work with an outreach coordinator to:

• identify community partners;
• develop outreach clinic plans; and
• deliver education and immunizations to children and their families through outreach clinics in community settings.

Clients will be asked to provide demographic information and complete client experience surveys to assess whether the project is successfully reaching the priority populations. Client feedback and community coverage rates will be analyzed to determine:

• which clinics were most successful for reaching underserved populations and
• whether outreach clinics contributed to overall increases in respiratory vaccination coverage rates among children.

• Geographic areas with limited access to public health unit vaccination clinics
• Low-income and newcomer families with children 0-4 years

$200,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Inner City Health Associates (ICHA)

Community Health Ambassador Program 2.0 (CHAMP 2.0)

The project will offer an innovative, community- based approach to enhance immunization and health among people experiencing homelessness. The project will recruit and train community health workers with lived experience of homelessness as integrated members of a multidisciplinary population health team. That team will co-design and deliver a vaccine preventable disease program providing seasonal, routine, and high-risk immunizations for people experiencing homelessness.

The project will engage community health workers with lived experience of homelessness as equal members of the program team. The resulting service will:

• combine vaccine delivery with community-driven health promotion to improve uptake; and
• help to correct power imbalances between health providers and the communities served.

The project will also couple immunization outreach with a suite of essential population health services including:

• harm reduction;
• smoking cessation;
• STBBI testing and care; and
• mental health programming.

The project model will bridge the gap between healthcare services and homelessness by connecting patients with broader health services. Integrated community-based program evaluation will describe the impact of the program; and enable the program to grow and adapt to other settings in Canada and beyond.

• People experiencing homelessness

$210,000.00

Scarborough, Ontario

Islamic Foundation

Give it a Shot - Immunization Program

The project will increase confidence, acceptance and uptake of vaccinations among underserved groups, including newcomer and immigrant populations. It will use culturally and linguistically relevant:

• accessible vaccine clinics,
• evidence-based information and
• multilingual educational supports.

The project will also provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to connect with the community.

• Marginalized and underserved populations
• Newcomer and immigrants
• Low-income individuals

$95,000.00

Vancouver, British Columbia

Latincouver

Keeping Latin-Canadians Healthy and Informed

The project will use different communication channels to connect with Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking audiences across Canada. It will promote evidence-based information related to vaccination, not only for COVID-19 but prevention of other infectious diseases, using:

• Podcasts;
• Social and printed media;
• Radio broadcasts; and
• in-person events.

The project goal is to ensure Latin-Canadians and Spanish and Portuguese speakers in Canada have equitable access to health.

• Spanish and Portuguese- speaking communities across Canada
• Newcomers and migrant workers
• 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
• Seniors
• Families and parents

$90,000.00

MKO region (Thompson, Manitoba)

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak

Minoayawin Keewatinowi Askik: Leveling up on Vaccinations

The project will enhance an online game for knowledge translation and to promote and increase trust with vaccine uptake for the Indigenous community. The project will focus on providing community frontline workers with the game within their respective communities to promote vaccine education, trust and uptake. These workers include:

• community health representatives,
• teachers,
• health professionals and
• community ambassadors.

The game was developed to reach across age categories, with an emphasis on children. The rationale to reach a younger generation is to create trust and education as a regular component of healthy lifestyle. It is anticipated that we will see the next generation understanding and incorporating regular vaccinations with themselves and their children.

• First Nation Peoples living on and off-reserve

$215,000.00

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

medSask

Supporting Vaccination Efforts in Saskatchewan Pharmacies

The project will aim to increase vaccination rates of the Saskatchewan public by:

• educating and empowering members of the public and
• supporting front-line immunizers and vaccine prescribers in the pharmacy community.

This will be accomplished by:

• developing and maintaining vaccine resources for pharmacists;
• updating and promoting prescribing protocols to align with legislation and the expanded scope of pharmacy practice in Saskatchewan; and
• operating phone and email query lines which healthcare professionals and general community members can access to receive timely and bespoke vaccination information.

• Saskatchewan pharmacy professionals
• Members of the Saskatchewan public

$149,964.00

Vancouver & Surrey British Columbia

Multi-lingual Orientation Services Association for Immigrant Communities (MOSAIC)

YES – I'm Protected, I'm Vaccinated!

The project will leverage community outreach, campaigns and educational workshops to promote seasonal and respiratory vaccines in first language and culturally-appropriate ways to include vaccines for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The project will also promote catch-up vaccinations during the 4 main life stages:

• infant and youth,
• adults,
• pregnant people and
• older adults or seniors.

This includes vaccines that protect against tetanus, diphtheria, measles, and chickenpox. The goal is to increase newcomers' confidence in vaccines, orient them, and increase their familiarity with the healthcare system of British Columbia, specifically community health and primary care services. Furthermore, the project will strive to address barriers to acceptance and uptake of vaccines in a culturally safe and linguistically accessible manner.

The project will support community-based education and vaccine promotion through outreach, education and training for:

• healthcare providers,
• ethno-cultural communities and
• other settlement organizations.

13 languages have been identified, including Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi/Dari, English, Hindi, Pushto, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Tigrinya, and Urdu.

• Immigrant, newcomer, and refugee communities
• Healthcare providers/organizations working closely with the newcomer and ethnocultural communities
• Other Settlement Organizations in the Metro Vancouver Area

$200,000.00

Windsor, Ontario

Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County

Vaccine For All

The project will aim to increase vaccine confidence and uptake within the newcomer community by delivering information sessions to newcomers and their families. Information sessions will promote credible information about the safety and importance of various vaccines recommended throughout life. The sessions will be delivered in multiple languages and across various communities to target populations that face significant gaps in accessing up-to-date information and services due to barriers like:

• language;
• culturally competent care; and
• mistrust and misinformation.

The project will partner with and promote services to other organizations working with newcomer populations within the Windsor-Essex County region. Additionally, the project will assist newcomers with translating, validating and updating vaccine records from overseas with the Windsor Essex County Heath Unit. Clients will also be supported in accessing healthcare providers to get the recommended vaccines as per the Canadian Public Health Vaccination Guidelines.

• Newcomers
• Government Assisted Refugees
• Refugee claimants
• International students
• Individuals within the community facing barriers in accessing vaccines and/or information

$149,000.00

National

National Association of Friendship Centres

Auntie Cares!

The project will aim to increase confidence of vaccines for respiratory illnesses among urban Indigenous Peoples. The campaign will take elements from the previous COVID-19 campaign to provide culturally relevant and medically sourced information about vaccines for respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 and the flu to the Friendship Centre Movement and urban Indigenous Peoples. The campaign will utilize the "Auntie" character to relay information via animated public service announcements.

• Urban Indigenous Peoples

$250,000.00

St. Catharines, Ontario

Folk Arts Council of St. Catharines (Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre)

Peer to Peer Vaccine, Education & Outreach Program

The project is a Peer-to-Peer Vaccine Education and Outreach program for newcomers to reduce vaccine hesitancy among newcomers to Canada. Without the cultural safety created by a deep understanding or respect for the cultural norms and practices of newcomer groups, trust between healthcare professionals and newcomer groups cannot be created. Building trust, confidence and acceptance requires innovative approaches. The goal of the project will be two-fold:

• Internationally educated health professionals will deliver evidence-based education sessions to newcomers in a culturally and linguistic appropriate way.
• Outreach work for existing programs at the Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre, and other community organizations and ethno-cultural groups.
• Sessions will take place in English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Ukrainian, Pashto and Farsi.

• Immigrants
• Refugees
• New Canadians

$124,972.00

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness

Beyond COVID-19: Improving Vaccination Services for and Acceptance by People of African Descent in Nova Scotia

The project will engage Black populations in community knowledge exchange sessions to discuss evidence-based information about COVID-19 and other vaccines. The group will also discuss a community-driven pathway towards restoring trust between Black populations and the healthcare system. In addition, the results of the community survey will be shared with community members across the province.

There will be 20 community knowledge exchange sessions located in different communities. The project will train 5 to 7 community facilitators in data analysis with 2 in-person training sessions and several virtual meetings. The community facilitators will co-lead activities in community knowledge exchange sessions. All 20 sessions will be conducted within Black communities and in close proximity as determined by community members. This is inclusive of historic Black communities as well as immigrant and refugee Black populations.

• Historic African Nova Scotian populations
• Immigrants
• Refugee Black Populations

$134,000.00

National

Inclusion Canada

Mobilizing Easy-to-Understand Vaccine Information

People with intellectual disabilities and their families must have access to accessible public health information. It is their right and there are tangible consequences to not achieving an equitable standard of vaccine knowledge and confidence for this population. The project will mobilize learnings from the previous project to build community capacity for evidence-based easy-to-understand vaccine communication. The project will utilize the Best Practices for Communicating Public Health and Vaccine Information to People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families recommendations guide and supplementary easy-to-understand public health communication resources.

These resources were previously developed to support and collaborate with disability, health and community organizations to enhance their vaccine communications and public relations strategies. The project will work with organizations to:

• understand current practice and attitudinal barriers to communicating vaccine information in easy-to-understand formats and
• provide technical support to overcome these barriers.

The goal of the project will be to leverage previous learnings to increase the overall delivery of accessible vaccine information by community-based organizations. This will increase accurate vaccine information and vaccine confidence amongst people with an intellectual disability and their families.

• People with disabilities, specifically intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

$160,000.00

Ontario

Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA)

School-Based Immunizations: Supporting Ontario School Board & Public Health Collaboration

The project will support enhanced collaboration between school boards and public health units on school-based immunization programs and communications across Ontario. Subject matter and sector stakeholders will be engaged to:

• identify and address promising practices and solutions to mitigate collaboration barriers and
• support the co-development and dissemination of evidence-based audience-centred knowledge mobilization tools.

The project will aim to enhance connections within the education and public health sectors and to increase awareness of successes and promising practices in:

• coordinating and managing school-based health interventions (including immunization clinics and
• communicating about immunizations to students and families (particularly within populations experiencing marginalization).

• System leaders within Ontario school boards and public health units
• Marginalized populations within school communities

$200,000.00

National

PHA Public Health Association of British Columbia

Kids Boost Immunity

The project is a school-based online learning platform to encourage vaccine and critical thinking literacy for Canadian schools. The project has over 500 free lessons from grades 4 - 12 that are aligned to provincial and territorial science, social studies and health curriculums. The project utilizes a variety of interventions to incentivize learning, including quizzes and classroom competitions that allow children to earn vaccines for children around the world through UNICEF Canada.

• Canadian students age 10 - 18 years

$225,000.00

Saskatchewan

Regina Open Door Society

Vaccine Awareness and Uptake for Newcomers

The project will collaborate and coordinate to provide information, outreach and vaccine access among refugees and newcomers. Through long-standing relationships with the community, the project will:

• address gaps in vaccine knowledge, attitudes and beliefs;
• encourage vaccination, dispel myths, and decrease vaccine hesitancy; and
• disseminate relevant multilingual vaccine information for clinical services.

The project outcome is increased rates of the following amongst refugees and newcomers who may have missed or delayed receiving recommended vaccinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic or while fleeing war in their home country:

• vaccine confidence,
• uptake against respiratory illnesses like influenza and Covid-19 and
• "catch-up" vaccinations, such as routine childhood vaccinations.

• Refugees and newcomers

$183,000.00

Québec

Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtone du Québec (RCAAQ)

Mamu (ensemble)

The Mamu project is an awareness-raising and promotional project designed to sensitize the urban Indigenous population to the importance of vaccination. To this end, the project plans to develop:

• provincial training for Friendship Centre workers,
• a prevention and awareness campaign for each target group and
• a specific awareness-raising activity to reach Indigenous Elders.

Indigenous citizens must be equipped to understand the importance of vaccination and be able to make informed decisions.

We plan to consult focus groups made up of Native Friendship Centre employees, as well as health professionals working in the Centres and in the CISSS/CIUSSS. These consultations will enable us to carry out our vaccination prevention and promotion campaign.

The project plans to translate into:

• Cree,
• Innum,
• Anishnabe, and
• Atikamekw.

The lack of information in Indigenous languages has been identified as a barrier to vaccination over the past 3 years.

• Seniors
• Teenagers
• Families with young children

$184,000.00

Ontario

Rexdale Community Health Centre

North Etobicoke Vaccine Education and Support (NEVES)

The project will focus on expanding community-based vaccination efforts in North Etobicoke to address healthcare barriers like distrust and limited healthcare access, especially in:

• ACB (African, Caribbean, Black) communities,
• newcomers,
• migrant workers and
• other vulnerable populations.

The project will seek to improve vaccine equity, trust, and education by:

• partnering with local organizations,
• deploying diverse community ambassadors and
• through culturally appropriate and relevant education, materials and initiatives such as community wellness clinics.

By addressing concerns transparently, the project will aim to improve confidence in vaccines and healthcare. Lessons learned will be shared through evaluation reports, data collection, and community feedback, fostering a community of practice. Overall, the project's goal will be to enhance vaccine equity, trust, and health in the North Etobicoke community by providing education, resources, and partnerships.

• Children, youth, students
• ACB (African, Caribbean, Black) population
• Francophones
• Seniors
• The marginally housed
• Newcomers, refugees, migrant workers and the uninsured
• 2SLGBTQ+

$250,000.00

British Columbia

Safecare BC

VaxBytes: Bite-Sized Knowledge for Vaccine Empowerment

Protecting the lives of people living in Canada through immunization is crucial, particularly within British Columbia's long-term care sector. Continuing care workers are pivotal in supporting clients, residents, and families and are in a unique position to serve as vaccination ambassadors. However, despite the well-documented benefits of immunization, vaccine hesitancy continues to pose challenges in uptake. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated matters, reshaping public perceptions of vaccination and fostering misinformation about vaccine safety. To address these challenges, the project will develop a comprehensive approach that combines in-person motivational interviewing sessions and digital media micro-education to engage its specific population.

• Front-line healthcare workers
• Vulnerable adults and seniors and their caregivers
• Individuals working in long-term care homes, home and community care settings, and assisted and independent living

$204,000.00

Treaty areas 6, 7, and 8, within the province of Alberta

Sandy Beach Kimamow Atoskanow Foundation Kimamow Atoskanow Foundation (KAF)

Good Medicine

The project will be an Indigenous-centred approach to increasing vaccination knowledge and support in accessing vaccination services. Through a land-based and context specific teaching methods, utilized through COVID-19, topics and content areas will be expanded to include:

• respiratory viruses,
• seasonal and emergent viruses,
• sexually transmitted blood borne infections and
• other life stage viruses.

Bringing together Indigenous and western science will strengthen knowledge and practice to ensure Indigenous Peoples have increased resources to make informed choices. The project's intention will be to identify and reduce barriers that affect vaccine confidence and uptake for Indigenous Peoples, including those that are:

• cultural,
• systemic,
• structural,
• educational,
• geographical and
• technological.

By assisting Indigenous Peoples in decision-making about vaccinations and reducing exposure risks, the project will provide a timely opportunity to facilitate and increase Indigenous innovations to address complex public health issues and other infections.

• Indigenous Peoples (inclusive of Métis, First Nation, Inuit, urban, rural, institutional, residential, land-based), in Treaty areas 6, 7, and 8, within the province of Alberta

$134,000.00

Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities

Vaccine Ambassadors Reaching Out in Scarborough (VAROS)

The project aims to increase Scarborough residents' knowledge of and access to immunization. The project will expand its focus from past vaccine engagement work to include education around COVID-19, flu, and life course vaccines. This will be accomplished with culturally appropriate, evidence-informed communication developed with partners and the community. The project will draw on trusted local, provincial and federal sources of information to stay informed on vaccine-related updates. Communications will be facilitated by ambassadors and healthcare providers, and will include:

• webinars,
• listening circles,
• social media posts,
• one-on-one conversations and
• in-person education sessions.

By involving and informing community partners, the project will increase the communities and front-line staff's capacity for vaccine-related public education. Together these efforts aim to increase rates of vaccination for both seasonal and life-course immunizations.

• Newcomers
• Minorities
• Low-income residents

$250,000.00

Greater Sudbury, Ontario

Science North

Deepening Engagement to Increase Vaccine Confidence and Acceptance

The project will deepen engagement with people living in Canada with an exciting array of virtual and in-person programs delivered in English and French across Northern Ontario and beyond. This includes a vaccine confidence digital campaign, which includes:

• asynchronous e-workshops for students;
• live webinars for older adults; and
• new TikTok science explainers for all audiences.

It also includes vaccine literacy in-person engagement, such as:

• nightlife events for adults;
• Nerd Nites for young adults;
• senior events;
• school programming for students;
• workshops for general audiences at Science North;
• Science Festival activities for families; and
• the opportunity for interested Health Units to run vaccine clinics at Science North and science festivals for all audiences.

The project will aim to increase evidence-based vaccine knowledge and achieve medium to high engagement results for all in-person programming. The objective is for people living in Canada to be able to make informed decisions about vaccine-preventable diseases.

• Students in rural communities
• Indigenous and francophone populations
• Seniors
• Adults
• Families

$175,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)

The SickKids Initiative for Vaccine Access and Confidence (IVAC): A Pilot Project

The project will utilize 3 pillars to improve vaccine knowledge, access, confidence and uptake.

Pillar 1 will develop and pilot a program to identify gaps in vaccination in children admitted to hospital and facilitate, as required:

• linkage to primary care;
• opportunistic vaccination while hospitalized; and
• vaccine catch-up through referrals to the SickKids Special Immunization Clinic.

This pillar will focus on children who are immunocompromised or have underlying complex medical conditions, and therefore may have increased risk of incidence of and morbidity related to vaccine-preventable diseases.

Pillar 2 will build on the Vaccine Consult Service, a vaccine call-in line previously to provide information to families about COVID-19 vaccination, to include all vaccines administered to children. Although the project will support the general pediatric population, the reach to children with comorbid conditions and equity deserving pediatric populations will be increased through formal linkage to Community Health Centres and networks of pediatricians.

Pillar 3 will build on prior STOP COVID-19 in Kids projects and relationships by identifying and addressing ongoing immunization coverage and educational deficits. Its messaging will be tailored to the communities from the partnered Community Health Centres in a culturally appropriate way. This pillar will also expand on knowledge generation through initiatives that include systematic reviews and survey studies.

The project will fill an important gap in pediatric preventative care by identifying ongoing immunization gaps that may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, either driven by:

• low parental vaccine confidence or
• access and/or equity issues that result in lower vaccination coverage.

• Equity deserving and general pediatric populations
• Children with underlying medical conditions and children who are immunocompromised

$230,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario

Vaccine Equity in Sickle Cell Disease

The project will utilize an evidence-based, qualitative research approach working with different groups to co-design a vaccination equity strategy in sickle cell disease:

• patients, families and caregivers with sickle cell disease;
• sickle cell clinics;
• public health agencies;
• community organizations; and
• community health centres.

With the principle of "Nothing About Us Without Us" being our corner stone, a vaccine equity strategy advisory council comprising of people with lived sickle cell experience would be struck to lead this project. The vaccination equity strategy developed would provide valuable insight for:

• hospitals,
• policy makers,
• health agencies and
• education resources.

The project will support the Sickle Cell Disease community and other marginalized communities to better achieve improved vaccine understanding and uptake.

• Patients, their families and caregivers with Sickle Cell Disease in Ontario

$194,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Sinai Health - Health Commons Solution Lab

Scaling Community-Based Approaches to Routine Immunization Equity in Peel Region

Hyper-local, community-based strategies have been highly effective to increase vaccination rates during the pandemic, with a focus on:

• education;
• easy access; and
• culturally appropriate care.

As we see coverage rates drop for routine immunization in many neighbourhoods, it is critical to evolve these successful pandemic strategies in ways that can be sustained. The project's goal will be to:

• implement and scale effective community-based strategies to increase routine immunization coverage in hard-to-reach neighbourhoods in Peel Region; and
• disseminate those strategies across the province through our large and growing network of partners.

• Children and youth (age 0-16) and their caregivers
• Community leaders, family doctors, and vaccine clinics
• School boards and schools

$184,000.00

Vancouver, New Westminster, Surrey, Burnaby, Victoria, British Columbia

Société RésoSanté

Fais-moi un dessin : de la parole à des gestes concrets pour assurer l'équité en santé

The goal of the project will be to facilitate access to respiratory disease vaccines, various screening tests and resources for overall health maintenance for vulnerable and underserved populations in British Columbia. Bilingual mobile clinics, held in familiar community settings, will bring together health professionals and volunteers trained to meet the needs of participants from diverse communities. Peer counsellors will intervene upstream to raise community awareness of vaccination and encourage participation in these clinics.

• Francophones from different multicultural communities
• Newcomers
• People living in precarious situations, and marginalized and underserved populations in British Columbia.

$184,000.00

Mississauga, Ontario

The Jasmine House - Syrian Canadian Foundation

The Community Shield

The project will increase vaccine confidence, acceptance, and uptake among newcomers and refugees. The project will aim to reach 2000 plus Arabic speakers in Ontario as well as 750 plus non-Arabic speaking newcomers and refugees in Ontario. Collaborating with a network of community partners and healthcare providers, the project will deliver vaccine promotion programming focused on:

• vaccination against respiratory illnesses that tends to be more prevalent during the fall and winter seasons (such as influenza and COVID-19) and
• supporting catch-up vaccinations across the life course for those who may have missed or delayed vaccinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic or their migration journey.

The project responds to ongoing vaccine hesitancy among Arabic-speaking newcomers and refugees in Canada, which can be attributed to:

• misinformation,
• cultural and religious social stigma and
• insufficient access to trusted and reliable information.

• Arabic speaking Newcomers/Refugees in the Greater Toronto Area

$134,000.00

Calgary, Alberta

Governors of the University of Calgary

Advancing and Applying to Practice the Training Program for Optimized Vaccine Communication

Several gaps in vaccine hesitancy educational tools for healthcare providers were identified during the previous Immunization Partnership Fund project. In response, the project developed an educational program to build vaccine communication skills. The program was virtual, asynchronous, and uniquely multidisciplinary. Therefore, the project will aim to expand and:

• advance the training program to practicing HCPs with focused scope on vulnerable populations and respiratory illnesses.
• develop patient-centred metrics which can be utilized in clinical settings to evaluate HCP education programs and clinical services.
• develop a comprehensive and accessible multi-modal toolkit for HCP to support dissemination and translation to clinical practice.

• Healthcare providers in nursing and pharmacy

$110,000.00

Vancouver, British Columbia

United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (known as S.U.C.C.E.S.S.)

Seasonal Vaccine Outreach Project for Immigrant Communities

The project for immigrant communities will aim to enhance the awareness and understanding of seasonal and COVID-19 vaccines among immigrants in the Metro Vancouver region through the delivery of culturally appropriate education and outreach services. The project will use evidence-based health information to:

• improve immigrant communities' awareness of seasonal and COVID-19 vaccines and
• support access to those vaccines.

Using an intersectional framework, the project will provide outreach support to immigrant communities in first language to identify any access barriers and support participants in addressing these barriers.

• Immigrants with no or low levels of official language proficiency
• Those with lower levels of digital literacy

$154,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

University Health Network

From Dialogue to Change: A coalition to build trust and support informed choice

The project will build capacity within community healthcare workers, personal support workers and midwives to lead vaccination conversations with their clients and patients, colleagues and communities. The project will support front-line care providers in home and community care settings by partnering with healthcare providers, including CBI health and VHA home healthcare and community organizations. An accompanying social media campaign and vaccination policy guide will be co-designed to share the voices of these occupational groups with the public and other organizations.

• Community healthcare workers
• Personal support workers and midwives

$134,000.00

Three counties in PEI (Prince, Queens, and Kings) and targeted communities across the province (Souris, Montague, Charlottetown, Summerside and O'Leary)

University of Prince Edward Island

Increasing vaccine confidence among families with young children in Prince Edward Island: The Island Vaccine Support Program

The project will aim to improve vaccine confidence and literacy among families in Prince Edward Island. This collaborative, community-based project will focus on:

• the COVID-19 vaccine;
• the seasonal influenza vaccine; and
• recommended immunizations for children.

Using principles of motivational interviewing, the purpose of this project will be to reduce vaccine hesitancy on PEI through targeted education and support to island families with children under 11 years old. The project will also offer training and resources to build the capacity of the province-wide network of PEI Family Resource Centres.

• Families with children under the age 11 years in PEI

$234,000.00

National

University of Toronto (CARD)

Teaching and learning how to play your CARDs for vaccination across the lifespan

The project will address vaccine hesitancy that is related to fear and pain, which contributes to avoidance of vaccination in 10% of the population. It will build on the prior work with integrating the CARD (Comfort Ask Relax Distract) system into vaccine delivery to promote more positive vaccination experiences for vaccine clients and healthcare providers. The project will create new tools and implementation guidance for CARD to support education of healthcare providers and vaccination campaigns undertaken in the fall and winter, targeting:

• clients across the lifespan,
• routine and seasonal vaccines and
• different vaccination settings (i.e. schools, public health institutions and pharmacies).

Specifically, the project will create and adapt tools and evaluate their effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability when implemented across English and French-speaking healthcare provider and vaccine client groups in different regions of the country. The project will build healthcare provider (and vaccination program) capacity and expand public education and promotion of CARD towards the goal of making CARD the 'national standard' for client-centred vaccination delivery.

• Vaccinators
• Organizations delivering vaccinations
• Public

$174,000.00

Waterloo, Ontario

University of Waterloo

Connect, collaborate and translate for vaccine uptake in Waterloo Region and Beyond

The project will build on the existing local community networks, healthcare providers, the public health and other relevant stakeholders, to better understand vaccine confidence issues for childhood and seasonal adult vaccines. The project will aim to extend the success in building vaccine decision making tools for COVID-19 vaccines to other vaccines. It will focus on the needs of underserved communities and educating the growing number of vaccinators in the communities. When creating vaccine information and decision-making tools, the project will group activities into 3 interrelated phases of successful connect-collaborate-tailor model.

In the "connect" phase, interviews and focus groups will connect with community members and healthcare providers. The interviews will help identify the main vaccines that need information and decision making support to guide the development of tools in the next phase.

In the "collaborate" phase, the project will work collaboratively with the content experts, the community champions and the diverse multidisciplinary team to design and test information tools and decision aids.

In the "tailor" phase, the products will be translated, adapted, and updated for specific groups, which may include:

• language translations;
• creating tools for different reading levels; and
• adapting the use of gendered terms to promote inclusion.

• Healthcare providers and public health decision makers
• Community organizations, community networks and champions, and vaccine promoters
• Employers and regional authorities

$154,000.00

Inner city of Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver ID Research and Care Centre Society (VIDC)

Optimizing access to vaccination in the inner city: a comprehensive community-based approach

The Community Pop-up Clinics (CPC) project will be tailored toward vaccine outreach, education, and promotion in partnership with our established collaborators. Building on the results of the previous IPF-funded project, VIDC will build the capacity of health care providers (HCPs) as vaccinators and vaccine promoters through partnerships between VIDC-based HCPs, pharmacy partnerships, and community-based housing and shelters to promote the role of vaccination.

Through targeted outreach initiatives, the project will provide community-based education and promotion of all measures to reduce the impact of communicable diseases via the established CPC program at single room occupancy (SRO) dwellings and shelters in the inner city. Additionally, the project will build capacity for evidence-based vaccine communication by developing tools (including targeted written materials and communication strategies with VIDC staff) to empower staff and residents of SRO dwellings and shelters in the inner city to ensure ongoing communication about availability of all vaccines, strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and structures to disseminate new information, such as the need for vaccine boosters going forward. Overall, the CPC project will focus on preventing, understanding and advancing the knowledge of chronic and acute communicable infectious diseases, particularly in the context of those who use substances, while providing low barriers to care.

• People experiencing addiction
• Residents of Vancouver's Downtown East Side and SROs
• Inner city housing providers and their residents
• Established health authorities

$165,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Women's College Hospital

Childhood Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Catch-up Vaccine Engagement Campaign

The project will develop an evidence-based behaviour change campaign targeted towards increasing Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations for children aged 4 to 8. These children may have missed their required second dose of the MMR vaccine throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Caregivers
• Parents, and guardians of children

$200,000.00

Toronto, Ontario

Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre

Optimizing Vaccine Uptake Among Racialized Women in the GTA Across the Life-course

The project will aim to enhance the confidence in and acceptance of vital vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and other crucial diseases among racialized women residing in the Greater Toronto Area. The project will employ a community health ambassador model for health promotion, and adopt a comprehensive strategy to foster vaccination at all stages of life and during different seasons among racialized women.

This approach is rooted in the life-course perspective, which underscores the influence of social, economic, and environmental factors on one's health and well-being throughout their lifetime. This framework acknowledges that health outcomes are shaped by the combined impacts of various experiences and exposures during different life phases.

Recognizing the significance of timing and pivotal life periods, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, in shaping long-lasting health consequences, the project will delve into how the uptake of recommended vaccines can prevent:

• COVID-19;
• influenza; and
• exposure to other contagious diseases across a person's lifespan.

• Community outreach workers and educators
• Ethno-racial and faith-based organization and other venues where racialized Women congregate
• Racialized women and their communities across the Greater Toronto Area

$182,000.00

Yukon

Yukon Immunization Program

Strengthening Northern Immunization Education and Partnerships

The project will have 2 main objectives: increase education and expand on existing relationships with community and indigenous partners.

The first objective will aim to increase immunization education for all Yukon residents through the development of:

• a Yukon-specific immunization website
• enhanced training resources to build healthcare provider vaccine knowledge

Yukoners have expressed the need for up-to-date immunization information to garner public confidence and trust in vaccination. The Yukon Immunization website will provide evidence-based information on vaccines, and up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. Enhanced training resources will consist of a training portal with updated product-specific resources for immunizers, as well as an opportunity to attend local immunization conferences and workshops.

The second objective will aim to work with local community and Indigenous partners to explore immunization barriers and facilitators and support the implementation of immunization outreach services. The Kwanlin Dun First Nation Health Centre will provide outreach services that include:

• partnering with local organizations that serve high risk clients;
• improving cultural safety and sensitivity in immunization services; and
• creating a presence at local events to raise awareness and reduce barriers for vaccination.

• Yukon residents
• Yukon First Nation Communities including Kwanlin Dun First Nation
• Immunizers

$225,000.00