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149 Understanding vaccine hesitancy among underserved communities in South Florida – an effort by the Florida Community-Engaged Research Alliance Against COVID-19 in Disproportionately Affected Communities (FL-CEAL) to address vaccine uptake disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2022

Olveen Carrasquillo
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Victoria Behar-Zusman
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Victor Cueto
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Nick Metheny
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Rosalina Das
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Jessica Diaz
Affiliation:
University of Miami
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The goal of this project is to understand vaccine hesitancy and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among underserved communities in South Florida, to promote vaccine awareness, and to tailor education and communication based on the findings, in partnership with local community-based organizations. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: By partnering with local community organizations, leaders, faith groups, and other trusted sources, the FL-CEAL teams will conduct a nationally developed CEAL survey in minority communities in South Florida to understand vaccine hesitancy and barriers, conduct outreach activities such as webinars and virtual townhalls to address hesitancy and promote vaccine uptake, and develop and disseminate educational materials and social media communications based on findings. The communities in South Florida include the Latinx farm working community, Latinx sexual/gender minorities, and Haitian and Black populations in South Florida. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Early findings have indicated that hesitancy drivers vary among specific communities, while lack of trust is an overall barrier. Over 100 outreach activities have been conducted, including events with subject matter experts and community partners addressing vaccines. A credit-earning Community Health Worker (CHW) curriculum on COVID vaccine hesitancy was created in partnership with the Miami CTSI and the Florida CHW Coalition and has been delivered to over 200 Florida CHWs. The training focuses on evidence-informed best practices for CHWs to increase vaccine acceptance. At least 350 surveys will be conducted to understand beliefs and concerns around COVID-19 vaccines, and tailor education materials and communication strategies. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The FL-CEAL Alliance has successfully leveraged their ongoing state-wide effort at addressing COVID-19 disparities to focus on COVID vaccine hesitancy in minority communities and leveraged data and findings to inform community-specific approaches in addressing some of those barriers.

Type
Community Engagement
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science