CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University is accelerating outreach to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines among Oregon’s Latinx communities, which have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and have lower vaccination rates compared with other racial and ethnic groups.
“Our immediate goal is to work with our local and state partners to help minimize vaccine hesitancy among the state’s Latinx population by promoting positive messages delivered by trusted messengers."
The OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health Program, in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, received two grants totaling about $225,000. The funding will support statewide education efforts and targeted work in Benton, Lincoln, Linn, Hood River and Wasco counties. Faculty from Extension’s 4-H Youth Development and Juntos programs are also collaborating on the project.
“Our immediate goal is to work with our local and state partners to help minimize vaccine hesitancy among the state’s Latinx population by promoting positive messages delivered by trusted messengers,” said Roberta Riportella, Family and Community Health Program leader and associate dean of the College of Public Health and Human Sciences. Riportella is the principal investigator for the grants.
Oregon’s Latinx residents account for almost one-third of all COVID-19 cases for which ethnicity is reported, according to the Oregon Health Authority. About 13% of Oregon’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latinx. As of June 11, the Latinx vaccination rate stood at 41%, compared with 64% for the state’s overall adult population.
Over the past year, OSU Extension has partnered with local organizations and businesses to provide COVID-19 resources in Spanish and, in some areas, in Mam — a language spoken by Guatemalan immigrants on the Oregon Coast. In the Columbia River Gorge, Extension joined a coalition of community organizations to support migrant and seasonal farm workers during the 2020 and 2021 harvest seasons.
In one recent effort, public service announcements began airing on radio stations in the Gorge, developed by Lauren Kraemer, assistant professor of practice in the Family and Community Health Program, with a community partner. The messaging targets unvaccinated residents and will soon also air in Spanish.
Understanding and reducing vaccine hesitancy
“Current evidence suggests that the Latinx population in Oregon has limited access to timely, evidence-based vaccine-related information that is tailored specifically to their concerns and cultural and linguistic needs,” Riportella said. “Additionally, vaccine confidence is complicated by longstanding medical mistrust, experiences of racism in the health care system, and targeted misinformation, especially through social media platforms.”
Riportella noted that barriers to access — such as inconvenient clinic times or locations, complicated appointment scheduling, and limited initial vaccine supply — have also contributed to lower vaccination rates.
Planned outreach activities under the grants
- Conduct interviews at churches, vaccine sites, community centers and other gathering places to better understand the specifics of vaccine hesitancy in Latinx communities. This includes identifying appealing content approaches for radio and other media, and learning how these communities use mass media and social media.
- Deploy local Latinx navigators — “friendly faces” — to help people sign up for vaccines, work at clinics, and promote pro-vaccine social norms through community outreach.
- Engage community-based partners, 4-H members, volunteers and Open Campus Juntos family networks to co-create and share linguistically and culturally tailored resources, including videos for YouTube and Facebook, as well as television, radio and social media content.
OSU received the grants through Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE), an initiative of the Extension Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Previously titled OSU accelerates local efforts to improve Latinx vaccine confidence and uptake
