Addressing Hesitancy and Expanding Access, Strategies to Equitably Improve Influenza Vaccination

Project Summary:

This project aims to address the health equity need to overcome influenza vaccine disparities for Black/African American and Hispanic adults and children in southeastern Wisconsin. Addressing these disparities is a priority as Black and Hispanic adults and children have historically experienced the greatest clinical burden from influenza resulting in higher rates of hospitalizations, intensive care admissions, and death compared to White and non-Hispanic individuals. To address these disparities, Dr. Baumer’s team received the 2025 AHW MCW Seed Grant supporting the successful development and piloting of an emergency department-based family vaccine clinic at Children's Wisconsin (CW). This Momentum proposal will have 3 Aims: 1) Promote health workforce development by training pharmacy students and medical staff to address vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccination with evidence-based, culturally sensitive, communication strategies; 2) Partner with CW parents and key stakeholders to adapt a successful emergency department-based family vaccine clinic intervention to accommodate a new setting and population (CW Milwaukee campus); and 3) Pilot these two interventions, assess patient-centered outcomes, and prepare for sustainability and scalability. These interventions are clearly needed. With a goal of offering vaccination to at least half of the family members accompanying a patient to the CW Milwaukee campus during a 12-week flu season, this program could potentially vaccinate 5,103 individuals (53,170 adults + 10,225 siblings) x (70% eligible) x (50% recruitment) x (23% acceptance rate). This project will have significant immediate impact. It will prepare the healthcare workforce to better address vaccine hesitant parents, and it will establish a model immunization strategy that could be replicated throughout Wisconsin to improve delivery of influenza vaccines to minority and underserved adults and children.