The chickasaw nation's department of health provider and caregiver vaccine confidence project - first american populations living in the united states (U.S.) experience an alarmingly high morbidity…

The chickasaw nation's department of health provider and caregiver vaccine confidence project - first american populations living in the united states (U.S.) experience an alarmingly high morbidity and mortality rate from infectious diseases. For many, geographic isolation and socioeconomic factors such as poverty have been major drivers of elevated rates of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Furthermore, an alarming decline in routine vaccinations among children and adolescents has occurred since the start of the covid-19 PANDEMIC1. To address concerns such as vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, the chickasaw nation department of health (cndh) provides health care, pharmacy, nutrition, social services and public health services to over 90,000 active first american patients. Unfortunately, several barriers currently exist in providing a clear picture on routine childhood vaccine disparities within the chickasaw nation (CN). Barriers include inconclusive state data to display local childhood vaccination rates, gaps within multiple vaccination reporting databases in the state, and a low response rate from first american populations in the vaccination databases, resulting in gaps in knowledge and data inconsistencies for the chickasaw population. This overall lack in routine immunization data hinders the CN's ability to address possible vaccine confidence issues and implement effective public health interventions to protect population health and prevent diseases. The cndh's provider and caregiver vaccine confidence project is a multidisciplinary, evidence-guided project whose goal is to gauge childhood routine vaccine confidence within both parents/caregivers and vaccination service providers and decrease vaccine hesitancy through qualitative and quantitative assessments and effective communication during health care visits. The project will build from a community needs assessment to (1) provide evidence-based intervention training to vaccination providers that aims to improve physician's confidence during communication with vaccine-hesitant parents/caregivers in clinical settings; (2) encourage incorporation of gained approaches within providers' clinic operations to increase confidence in communication and reduce any possible vaccine hesitancy among parents/caregivers and (3) assess effectiveness of provider trainings through the parent attitudes about childhood vaccination survey (pacv) for parents/caregivers, while conducting interim evaluations to provide reports, recommendations and sustainability of all elements influencing change. The cndh will invite CN health care providers to participate in the project's efforts. The project will provide insight on the landscape of childhood routine vaccination confidence within CN with hopes to address more in-depth vaccine-related concerns in the future. The provider and caregiver project will serve as a guide for similar projects and research that also seeks to improve vaccine confidence and prevent disease in the CN's most vulnerable communities. (1) santoli, J.M., lindley, M.C., desilva, M.B., ET AL. (2020) mmwr: effects of the covid-19 pandemic on routine pediatric vaccine ordering and administration - united states, 2020. Mmwr morb mortal wkly REP 2020;69:591-593. DOI: http://DX.DOI.ORG/10.15585/mmwr.MM6919E2