Anyone Can be a Vaccine Advocate

Learn how to be a vaccine advocate!

This training aims to empower non-clinical participants to become effective vaccine advocates for families. We will cover the basics on immunizations and the diseases they prevent, vaccine safety, and how to talk about vaccines with families. Participants will learn strategies for addressing vaccine misinformation, navigating sensitive conversations with empathy, and promoting the importance of vaccines confidently and respectfully. This training is ideal for anyone who works with parents or families and could encounter a conversation about vaccines.

This is the first in a series of trainings to dive deeper into this concept of vaccine advocacy. Stay tuned for more information.

Objectives:

• Understand the basics of how vaccines work and how they are monitored for safety.
• Increase confidence in navigating questions or concerns from families.
• Identify where to locate reliable vaccine resources for families.
  
  

Register Here

Presenters

• Carly Edson, MPH is the Immunization Outreach Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health. In her current position, Carly leads outreach efforts in Minnesota’s underserved communities and strives to improve vaccine confidence. She started this vaccine advocate training program last fall in collaboration with her colleagues and has now delivered this training to several partner groups. She strongly believes in giving community partners the resources so they can be the ones to drive the work. Carly holds a masters degree of Public Health in Community Health Promotion from the University of Minnesota.
• Tabitha Hanson, MPH, DNP, RN graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and started her nursing career as a hospital bedside nurse and home health nurse for pediatric patients. These experiences sparked her interest in the prevention of illness and injury. After earning her Master of Public Health and Master of Nursing degrees from the University of Minnesota, she shifted her career focus to the broader impact of public health nursing. She has worked in local public health agencies in rural and suburban Minnesota counties serving constituents of all ages but focusing on maternal, child and adolescent health. She is currently an Immunization Program Clinical Consultant at the Minnesota Department of Health and has helped develop and deliver this training program.
• Karen Ernst, MA ED, is a nationally recognized expert in vaccine confidence with a decade’s experience in grassroots organizing around the issue. Her background in writing and literature has translated into new ways of communicating the science of vaccines that have transformed the work on hesitancy across the country.

Who should participate/Audience:
Community Health Workers, Doulas, Home Visitors, Health Educators, Social Workers, and anyone who interacts with parents or guardians who may have questions about vaccinations.

CEU
Participants should contact their relevant licensing board to determine if this program will meet continuing education requirements and CEU values.

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This webinar is presented by a collaboration of Minnesota health plans working to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Minnesota. Thank you to Blue Plus, HealthPartners, Hennepin Health, IMCare, Medica, South Country Health Alliance, and UCare for their commitment to this issue.