Clinical Research Directory

Vaccine Confidence Study Among Historically Marginalized Racial and Ethnic Groups

Achieving optimal vaccination rates is vital for protecting the health and well-being of all individuals. This specific study focuses on the MMR and RSV vaccines in pregnancy and early childhood, which have been shown to reduce RSV and MMR-related illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths. Efforts to improve vaccination rates have not been equally effective across the entire population; this has resulted in poorer outcomes from interventions for certain populations who are vaccine-hesitant. This study seeks to understand how to best increase vaccine confidence in marginalized populations. To do this, the investigators will interview parents of children who receive care at Boston Medical Center (BMC), Community Health Workers and other Clinical providers at BMC, leading experts in the fields of vaccine confidence and implementation science, and key public health stakeholders/officials.

Predicting Vaccine Hesitancy Using Machine Learning

In recent years, emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual Reality (VR) have rapidly become integrated into daily life. The widespread use of these applications has led to the accumulation of vast amounts of data, giving rise to what is commonly referred to as "Big Data." Due to the sheer volume, manual processing and analysis of these large datasets are not feasible. Therefore, software tools and libraries-such as Python and R libraries-have been developed to perform these analyses efficiently and to generate predictions for the future by leveraging historical data through Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The primary goal of machine learning algorithms is to discover patterns within existing data and use these patterns to make accurate predictions on new data. The use of machine learning in the field of healthcare has gained significant momentum in recent years. However, a review of the literature reveals that research specifically addressing childhood vaccine hesitancy remains limited. This study aims to identify the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy among parents of children aged 0-48 months and to develop a predictive model using machine learning techniques based on these factors. Such a model could help anticipate the likelihood of vaccine refusal among parents and thereby support the development of targeted public health strategies for at-risk populations.

Effect of Primary Care Education on Parents' Health-Related Perceptions and Attitudes

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a structured education program delivered in primary health care settings on parents of children aged 0-2 years. The education focuses on childhood vaccination and related health perceptions. Parents will receive education covering childhood vaccines, vaccine hesitancy, evaluation of vaccine-related information obtained from digital sources, eco-anxiety, and perceived vulnerability to diseases. The study examines whether this education influences parents' levels of vaccine hesitancy, digital vaccine literacy, eco-anxiety, and perceived vulnerability to diseases. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of effective educational interventions in primary health care services to support informed parental decision-making regarding childhood vaccination.

Active Health Education to Increase HPV Vaccine Coverage in Youth: A Stepped-wedge, Cluster, and Randomized Trial

This study aims to evaluate the impact of active health education methodologies on increasing adherence to the HPV vaccine among schoolchildren. The project will involve 196 schools across Brazil, encompassing a total of 5,000 students. A stepped-wedge implementation design will be applied, with clusters being randomized every two months to one of four interventions. Each intervention will be implemented in 48 schools.

Improving Vaccine Acceptance Through EHR Integrated Patient- and Provider-Facing Decision Support

The goal of this project is to establish the technical feasibility of a scalable, integrated platform to improve patient informed decision-making and increase vaccine uptake and to evaluate the effectiveness of the integrated platform to improve vaccine uptake.

RADx-UP Phase 3D (Oregon Saludable: Juntos Podemos)

The ongoing Oregon Saludable: Juntos Podemos (OSJP, Healthy Oregon: Together We Can) project was developed to directly address the COVID-19 related health disparities among Latinx communities through community engagement funded by Phase I and II of the RADx-UP initiative. This project is organized by the University of Oregon's Oregon Saludable: Juntos Podemos (OSJP) project. In this Phase III study, study investigators build on the successful Phase I and Phase II partnerships with Latinx-serving community-based organizations and the project's established Community Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB) to employ a data-informed approach for implementing preventive interventions designed to advance health equity and ameliorate health disparities among vulnerable populations. Based on identity-stress and stereotype threat models for racial and ethnic minorities, study investigators will further tailor the Promotores de Salud COVID-19 evidence-based health promotion intervention to experimentally evaluate a brief behavioral self-affirming implementation intention (SAII) intervention; an approach that is evidence-based for increasing acceptance of health messaging, increasing intentions to change, increasing health promoting behaviors, and decreasing psychological distress. In collaboration with the Mexican Consulate (MC), research team members will attend the MC mobile events, invite MC attendees to participate in the research study and complete a survey, offer the Promotores de Salud, and SAII intervention to all attendees (if event is assigned to the intervention condition), and distribute rapid tests to participants.

A Survey of Acceptance and Factors Associated With Hesitancy Vaccination in Northeast Brazil

The objective of this study is to investigate vaccination acceptance and identify the reasons why people are not vaccinated. People over 18 years of age who live in neighborhoods with socioeconomic vulnerability and with many cases of infectious diseases, as well as health professionals, will respond to a research questionnaire.

The Impact of Community and Patient Engagement Practices on Vaccine Confidence in the United States

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate an empirical relationship between community- engagement practices, and between patient-centric clinical trial design, execution and communication practices, and vaccine adoption experience. Our hypothesis is that patient-centric clinical trial activity, and community engagement in late-stage clinical trials and early-stage commercialization, reduces vaccine hesitancy and increases vaccine confidence among health care providers overall and within diverse patient communities and ultimately drives faster vaccine adoption.

Supporting CHWs as Vaccine Educators: Impact of a Digital Training and Chatbot Intervention on Vaccination in Kenya

This study seeks to understand how to support community health workers (CHWs) to improve routine vaccination rates in high-need areas by testing a two-part intervention. The first part of the intervention is a digital training provided to CHWs, which includes videos and job aids on vaccine education to support patient communication. The second part of the intervention is a patient-facing chatbot that CHWs can share with their patients. The chatbot is designed to answer patient questions about routine immunization. The intervention will be implemented in two sub-counties in Migori County Kenya (Awendo and Nyatike) that Lwala Community Health Alliance has identified as high need with respect to vaccine education. We hypothesize that the intervention will increase knowledge about routine immunization among CHWs and patients, increase vaccine acceptance, intent-to-vaccinate, and vaccination rates among patients in the treatment group.