Building vaccine equity through relationships: Lessons from Canadian community-based organizations
Researcher(s)
Sophie Webb, Julia Smith, Esther Lermytte and Haaris Tiwana, in partnership with the Dr. Peter Centre
Key takeaways
- Vaccine equity depends on more than making vaccines available. In fact, access to vaccines often relies on trusted relationships and community support.
- Community organizations can help people navigate barriers to vaccination that are often invisible within health systems.
- Understanding how community partnerships contribute to vaccine equity can help strengthen future immunization programs.
Overview
This vaccine equity study, in partnership with the Dr. Peter Centre, explores how community organizations help improve equitable access to vaccination. Through interviews with community partners and a survey of organizations across Canada, the project examines how trusted relationships, navigation support, and community-based approaches shape vaccine confidence and access. The findings aim to inform more equitable immunization policy and practice beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
This mixed-methods study aims to better understand how these community partnerships contribute to vaccine equity. Rather than examining vaccination solely as an individual decision, the research explores how relationships, trust, and community infrastructure shape people’s ability to access health services.
The project is currently analyzing qualitative and survey findings. Future outputs will include peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and knowledge mobilization resources to support community-centred approaches to immunization.