Vaccination Adoption and Equity Must Meet People Where They Are

Disparities in COVID-19 infection, mortality, and now vaccination adoption further elevates the need for health equity. Reaching vaccination targets required for herd immunity will not occur without overcoming widespread barriers to getting the COVID-19 vaccine in many communities at high risk of declining it. Effective efforts to promote the vaccine, however, requires meeting people where they are with an understanding of how people make decisions and what gets people to take action. How can health systems and providers make this operational, and at scale?

Hear from Dr. Deborah Stamps, Ed.D, MBA, MS, RN, GNP, NE-BC, whose many roles at Rochester Regional Health (RRH) include Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Executive Vice President of Quality, Safety, and Innovation, on how RRH is meeting high-risk communities where they are to educate them about the vaccine, and connect on a personal and emotional level. Through regular Zoom outreach and partnerships with community organizations, RRH has seen a change in both the nature and tone of their community engagements, with important lessons learned for achieving health equity and addressing upstream social determinants of health.