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Investigating Community-Engaged COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Models Among Marginalized Newcomer Communities: Employment, Community and Mobile-Based Approaches

Team:

Principal Investigators: Dr. Gabriel Fabreau (University of Calgary), Dr. Denise L. Spitzer (University of Alberta), Dr. Kevin Pottie (Dalhousie University)

Co-Investigators: Dr. Michael Aucoin, Dr. Aleem Bharwani, Dr. Tanvir Chowdhury, Dr. Sarah Clarke, Dr. Chuck Hui, Dr. Kerry McBrien, Dr. Maria Jose Parrilla Lopez, Dr. Sachin Pendharkar, Dr. Cheryl Peters, Dr. Meb Rashid, Dr. Vanessa Redditt, Dr. Paul Ronksley, Dr. Rachel Talavlikar, Dr. Marlies van Dijk, Dr. Adam Vyse

Collaborators: Ms. Minella Antonio, Mr. Ajak Kuchkon, Dr. Deidre Lake, Dr. Edna Ramirez Cerino, Ms. Adanech Sahilie, Mr. William Stauffer, Mr. Mussie Yemane, Mr. Michael Youssef

Knowledge Users: Dr. Gary Teare, Dr. Annalee Coakley, Dr. Jia Hu 

Research Assistant: Ms. Hennessey Chartier-Ford

Summary of Project:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta had some of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates and highest COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates in Canada. Low-income immigrants, refugees, and temporary or undocumented foreign workers (collectively called ‘newcomers’) played a vital and front-line role in essential service industries and faced high rates of COVID-19 related infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we explored newcomers’ perspectives of local COVID-19 vaccine outreach strategies, their trusted sources of information, and attitudes towards other vaccination programs. Our newcomer respondents generally embraced COVID-19 vaccinations and looked to health professionals for accurate information, asking only that vaccinations be accessible to people with busy schedules and limited access to transportation.

Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

New Frontiers in Research Fund logo