Closing Immunity Gaps: Building demand and uptake in National Immunization Programs

Low and inequitable immunization rates are a key challenge to the health of many LMIC and HICs, with many children (zero-dose) and adults receiving no vaccines at all. Where there is low coverage with accessible and affordable vaccines, demand generation becomes critical, but this is often the least developed part of a National Immunization Strategy. 

In this participatory course, we will build understanding of 1. Applying social behavioural insights to develop effective communications and other demand interventions, 2. Diagnosing the contextual and programmatic determinants of vaccine uptake, and 3. Designing tailored, targeted demand strategies to address immunity gaps in routine immunization programs, SIAs, and new vaccine introductions. Participants will learn how to make data tell the stories, how to inoculate against misinformation, and how to inform public health policies and programs with social behavioural insights. We will draw from deep experience in social behavioural research, behavioural design and national strategy design and implementation in both LMICs and HICs.

By the end of the course participants will:

• Understand the importance of designing public health interventions with a social behavioural insights’ lens;
• Employs data triangulation and data storytelling using program data, contextual information and social behavioural insights to facilitate judgement and decision making in vaccine program design;
• Identify and analyse the root causes of sub-optimal uptake and target them with evidence-based interventions;
• Be able to develop effective, context-specific, behaviorally-informed SBC communications to encourage vaccine acceptance and demand;
• Apply learnings to a use case of psychological inoculation against misinformation;
• Design tailored, targeted demand strategies to address immunity gaps.

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None.

• Introductory lectures;
• Case studies;
• Peer group exercises.

To get the Certificate of completion and the 1 ECTS participants must:

• Attend at least 80% of the course;
• Attend the plenary offered on the first day of the course;
• Actively participate in exercises;
• Work in a group to prepare the final presentation which will serve as an assignment for the course.

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The facilitators plan to be present in Lugano, and the course will be held entirely on-site. If face-to-face meeting was problematic for unforeseen reasons, the course could be held online or using a hybrid format. The course will take place at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI).

For course pricing information, see here. Discounts are available for participants from UMICs, LMICs, PhD and Master Students, and Students and Employees from the LSS Partner Universities (SSPH+, USI, SUPSI, and SWISS TPH).  

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