599 - Childhood COVID-19 Vaccine Poster Project- A Resident-Led Advocacy Campaign

COVID-19 vaccine uptake remains suboptimal amongst children in New York (NY), with 52% of children 0-17 having received a dose compared to over 96% of adults 18 to 74. Uptake lags among minority populations. Visual messaging with illustrations and graphics can effectively relay health information, particularly for individuals with low health literacy.

Objective:

Create health literate graphic materials about the COVID-19 vaccine; display them in pediatric facilities; and track the spread of information accessed.

Design/Methods:

NY Pediatric Resident Advocacy Coalition (NY PRAC) is a group of pediatric residents from 22 residency programs in NY that work together towards common advocacy goals. NY PRAC held virtual meetings over several months to determine the best approach to disseminate information regarding COVID-19 vaccination from the CDC website. NY PRAC partnered with a pediatric resident to design the graphic, and with the local American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) network to distribute the final product in inpatient and outpatient pediatric health care settings. Technological quick response (QR) codes on the final product were tracked over time to determine spread of information accessed.

Results:

NY PRAC created a poster using a strategy of graphic design and QR codes to disseminate information regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The poster shows multicultural child superheroes in a background of a NY landscape. Associated QR codes link to vaccine information including: general information, myths and facts, side effects, and a link to Vaccine Finder in both English (Figure 1) and Spanish (Figure 2). The poster also includes the NY AAP logo after endorsement was obtained. Through the first 12 months of distribution of the COVID-19 posters, there were 313 scans of the QR codes. 219 scans were in the English language and 94 in Spanish. 105 scans included links to the NY vaccine sign-up page. 

Conclusion(s):

The poster reached hundreds of individuals through the >300 unique QR code scans. Residents from different institutions shared barriers and solutions for dissemination through continued virtual meetings. This included fast-tracking approval by hospital administration by highlighting the AAP logo, and tips such as laminating the posters to allow them to be hung on facility walls per health code rules. This poster creation serves as an important model for future advocacy endeavors surrounding technology to enhance patient education to combat vaccine hesitancy. It also demonstrates successful collaborative advocacy efforts among pediatric residents and serves as a blueprint for physician collaboration.