National Vaccine Advisory Committee Meeting February 4, 2010 Stephanie A. Marshall National Vaccine Program Office 2010 Communications Plan

NVPO 2010 Communications Plan Presentation Outline  Message mapping and audience research project Background Focus group findings Communications recommendations  2010 NVPO Communications Workplan  Discussion

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Background  Initiated in October 2008 – led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (OASPA) in response to growing concerns regarding vaccine safety  Supported by several HHS Operating Divisions and Staff Divisions – OASPA, NIH, and HRSA  Goal: Create and test message maps on vaccine safety

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Message Mapping Session  Two-day session in November 2008  Attended by communications staff and subject matter experts from HHS OpDivs and StaffDivs  Led by Dr. Vincent Covello, Director, Center for Risk Communications  Teams addressed a range of topics including adverse events, vaccine schedule, vaccine production, and legal/ethical questions  28 draft maps produced  Message maps modified and used during the H1N1 response

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Focus groups – November 2009  Shift from just testing message maps to identifying potentially effective communications strategies  Purpose: Gain insights into: Perceptions surrounding childhood vaccinations Sources of these perceptions Desired vaccine-related information; and Reactions to sample messages and message approaches: scientific/informational, emotional, and anecdotal

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Methodology  Nine national computer-assisted telephone focus group sessions conducted Audience segments Fully vaccinating mothers of young children Partially vaccinating mothers of young children Female health opinion influencers  68 women, age 21 or older, from 68 different municipalities in 25 states participated in the groups

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Overall Findings  How Do Moms Feel about Vaccines: Are concerned about vaccines and vaccine safety (especially risks such as autism) Have lots of questions, want their questions answered, and need more information Don’t know or haven’t heard about the value and benefits of vaccination  What Sources of Information Do Moms Trust? Government (HHS, CDC, NIH, state and local governments) Physicians/health care providers Websites (government, WebMD, nonprofits, mass media such as parenting magazine sites) Moms want information before vaccination appointments and in printed formats

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Specific Findings  Perceptions of Vaccination Value and Risk Participants reported recently hearing about the risks of vaccination but did not report recently hearing about the value and benefits of vaccination Participants expressed concerns about vaccinating young children with differing specificity and conviction but – most often – with questions Participants expressed that benefits often outweigh the risks but want reassurance in this decision

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Specific Findings Cont.  Questions relating to vaccination: Why so many shots in such a short period of time? What are the benefits and risks – especially long- term risks – of each vaccine and what facts support that information? What ingredients are in each vaccine.... What country do they come from? In my state, what is the rate of vaccine-preventable diseases and how does that compare to the percentage of children who have, or have not been, vaccinated?

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Specific Findings Cont.  Trusted Sources Participants wanted to hear, read, or see answers to their questions from a variety of authoritative and trusted sources  Openings, Channels and Vehicles They were most open to receiving and attending to information in their doctor’s office (pediatrician or ob/gyn) They also wanted to encounter this information on trustworthy, impartial websites They did not want to encounter it on websites from those they perceived as biased or non-authoritative, such as industry, celebrities, blogs

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Message Testing Results  Value of Vaccines Participants were receptive to messages about the negative consequences of not vaccinating. Such information appeared to provide important support for the concept that vaccination is beneficial, continues to be needed, and is consistent with their self-image.

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project  Value of Vaccines Cont. Benefits: Presenting information about the consequences of some vaccine-preventable disease reinforced and reassured many about the value of vaccination Continuing threats: Participants reacted well to explanations that people can still be exposed to these diseases Sense of responsibility: The idea that vaccinating one's child protects those who are unable to be vaccinated – news to some and reinforcement to others – made good sense to them and tapped into a sense of social responsibility

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Message Delivery Approaches  Informational/Scientific Participants were receptive to “informational/scientific” approach message points that used concrete, detailed, and numeric or statistical information. They referred to most of these points as “facts.” They liked data such as reducing cases of deadly contagious disease by specific percentages in specific time periods Some felt the use of consequences of not vaccinating as “scary” or “fear mongering”

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Message Delivery Approaches Cont.  Emotional Engagement of Personal Values Messages relating to personal responsibility and civic duty resonated Inclusion of data sources supported messages Some viewed the approach as judgmental

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Message Delivery Approaches Cont.  Anecdotal Mixed response from participants Attention getting and realistic “Someone like me” Patronizing

Message Mapping & Audience Research Project Communications recommendations regarding future vaccine safety communications efforts:  Target audience: mothers of young children  Need to communicate when, where, and how to find the soundest information relevant to vaccinating children  Provide clear, current and relevant information that should be readily available and updated by trusted sources  Use medical appointments (peds and ob/gyn) to discuss the value and risks of vaccination  Messages, materials & tone should be supportive, respectful and informative not prescriptive or judgmental

NVPO 2010 Communications Workplan Key initiatives  Create a single HHS website for vaccine and immunization information – Vaccines.gov  Develop and support a strategic vaccine & vaccine safety communications strategy  Support National Vaccine Plan and begin executing Goal 3 of the Plan

Vaccines.gov Harness the Department’s expertise and content to present information on a single site Target audience: Mothers Information to reflect the lifespan from childhood vaccines to vaccines for seniors Target launch date: Summer 2010

Vaccine Communications Build on the H1N1 experience Support a strategic vaccines and vaccine safety communications and outreach plan  Situation and market analysis  Audience definition and needs  Materials development  Outreach and partnership plan

National Vaccine Plan Goal 3: Support informed vaccine decision-making by the public, providers, and policy makers by providing accurate, timely, transparent, and complete information in appropriate formats and through appropriate channels Next steps: Finalize Plan, write implementation plan, execute plan

Discussion