Conversation ambassadors in action. Bottom-up vaccination communication in Dutch vulnerable areas. VWS-RIVM.

Designing and conducting child vaccination research aimed at communities with already low vaccination rates is challenging. While, to date no single trialled-and-proven effective communication strategy has been identified, there is evidence that tailored interventions are more successful than generic health communication campaigns .The current project will build on already developed, tailored interventions such as home visits. This will ensure that the outcomes are relevant for and well-connected to practice and that recommendations can be implemented sustainably within existing institutional structures.
The main aim of the project is to identify effective communication practices that foster productive discussions about child vaccination between parents, health professionals, and key persons in the community with the goal of increasing participation in the NIP by families from communities with very low vaccination rates.
Using Conversation Analysis, combined with participatory methods such as Citizen Science,, we will analyse real-life conversations from group discussions and house calls currently organised by a.o.the GGDs of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These meetings are attended by parents, health professionals, and key persons and are already taking place or are planned. This allows us to collect real-life data which provide us with direct access to the communication practices that participants employ naturally to discuss vaccination.