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  Vaccine Messaging – What New Mexico Black and Hispanic/Latinx Communities Have to Say

  Theresa Cruz, Camille Velarde, Anna Rutins, Khadijah Bottom, Miriam Luevano, and Miguel Acosta

  The Partnering 4 Vaccine Equity (P4VE) initiative in New Mexico (NM) aims to overcome vaccine hesitancy and promote health equity among underserved populations. Four listening sessions were conducted in 2023 by the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center, Presbyterian Community Health, and community partners to understand vaccine attitudes and message preferences of African American, African immigrant, NM Hispanic/Latinx, and Hispanic/Latinx immigrant communities. The sessions followed a semi-structured discussion guide led by trained trusted messengers and recruited through community-based organizations and social media platforms. Participants shared their experiences and perspectives on COVID-19 and influenza vaccine attitudes, beliefs, and barriers. Participants provided feedback on a set of vaccine messages informed by previous listening sessions and were also provided with materials to develop their own vaccine messages. Participants expressed distrust and skepticism due to language barriers, lack of trust in the government and healthcare system, and concerns about vaccine efficacy and side-effects. Participants emphasized need for accurate information about vaccines, addressing misinformation and myths. All groups preferred positively framed messages that addressed specific concerns and questions, were culturally representative, and came from people in their respective communities. Participants identified specific cultural values, beliefs, and practices that could be incorporated into vaccine messages to increase their relevance and appeal. The study highlights the importance of culturally appropriate vaccine communication strategies, including tailored messaging and trusted messengers, in building vaccine confidence and improving health outcomes. These findings have important implications for advancing community health equity and addressing access barriers, and are being used to inform vaccine confidence efforts.

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  Health promotion strategies to increase vaccine confidence – findings from listening sessions with Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, and Black/African American populations

  Camille R. Velarde and Theresa H. Cruz

  The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted health disparities in historically marginalized populations. These disparities are exacerbated when these same populations are under-represented among those receiving COVID-19 and flu vaccines. In collaboration with Presbyterian Healthcare Services Community Health, partners in the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Healthy Here Project, and other respected community leaders, the UNM Prevention Research Center conducted listening sessions focused on COVID-19 and flu vaccine confidence. The sessions identified barriers and concerns about the COVID-19 and flu vaccines, and strategies for increasing vaccine confidence in the Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, and Black/African American populations in New Mexico. Eleven listening sessions were held with these priority populations between June 2021 and April 2022. Overall, participants expressed a lack of confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines due to their quick production and the lack of long-term research. Participants also doubted efficacy due to breakthrough cases. Native American and Black/African American participants expressed a strong distrust of government agencies and health institutions due to historical trauma and prior experiences of discrimination. Additionally, Spanish-speaking immigrants were hesitant to register for vaccination because of the personal information requested and documented. In this presentation, we will share additional findings and highlight differences for each population as they relate to COVID-19 and flu vaccine confidence, hesitancy, trusted messengers, and innovative strategies to increase vaccination. We will also present recommendations based on findings, and examples of novel strategies employed to increase vaccine confidence among Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, and Black/ African American populations in NM.

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  From Data to Action: Using qualitative research to increase healthcare provider referrals to early childhood home visiting

  Theresa H. Cruz, Leona Woelk, and Ivy Cervantes

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  Pharmacists Role in Preventive Healthcare Services Including Measures to Address Opiod Abuse Epidemic.

  A Bautista, L N. Bakhireva, S Cano, S Shrestha, A Bachyrycz, and T Cruz

  Accepted for presentation at: New Mexico Public Health Association Annual Conference

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  SNAP-Ed evaluation framework in New Mexico

  Theresa Cruz

  Presented at: Association of SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators; February 9, 2017. Arlington, VA.

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  My First Year Research Experience

  Itzel Guillen

  Hello, my name is Itzel Guillen. I am a graduate of Rio Grande High School, and a freshman at UNM. I am a participant in the FYRE (First Year Research Experience) program.

  FYRE gave me the opportunity to work more on a project that I participated in while I was in high school: RAPS. My research interest is the response of adults who were part of the project.

  As a freshman, finding a mentor can be hard. Many students need more experience, but there may not be many open opportunities. For my mentor, I contacted Courtney FitzGerald at the UNM PRC. I met Courtney through the RAPS project while I was in high school.

  For FYRE, I wanted to work with RAPS project data. I was able to do this with Courtney as my mentor.

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  “Eat Smart to Play Hard”: a social marketing intervention designed to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables by 8- to 10-year olds in New Mexico.

  Jennifer Johnson and Glenda Canaca

  Accepted for presentation at: World Social Marketing Conference; May 16-17, 2017; Washington, DC.

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  CHILE Plus

  Patricia Keane

  Presented at: National Child and Adult Care Food Program Leadership Conference/Anti-Hunger Policy Conference; March 1-7, 2017; Washington, DC.

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  Assessing Organizational Readiness for Sexual Violence Prevention - A Collaborative Process Between Departments of Health, Local Contractors and Research Institutions.

  D Reed, S Hoshnic, and Woelk

  Accepted for presentation at: New Mexico Public Health Association Annual Conference; April 5, 2017; Albuquerque, NM and National Sexual Assault Conference; June 9, 2017; Dallas, TX.

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  Healthy Here’s Wellness Referral Center – Providers, Patients, and Community Resources.

  T Toles, V Quintana, J Lopez, M Hirschl, M Meyer, and T Cruz

  Accepted for presentation at: New Mexico Public Health Association Annual Conference; April 5, 2017, Albuquerque, NM.

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  Barriers and facilitators to pharmacist prescriptive authority for naloxone.

  A Bautista, S Cano, S Shrestha, A Bachyrycz, T Cruz, and L Bakhireva

  Presented at: American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo; October 29-November 2, 2016; Denver, CO.

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  Healthy Here Mobile Market: improving equitable access to local, organically grown fruits and vegetables.

  A Bennett, T H. Cruz, R Cuddy, and T F. Rodriguez

  Presented at: 2016 Annual Conference of the New Mexico Public Health Association; April 12-13, 2016; Las Cruces, NM.

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  “Eat Smart to Play Hard”: a social martketing campaign to prevent obesity in Hispanic populations.

  G Canaca, J A. Johnston, T H. Cruz, E A. Lilo, and S M. Davis

  Presented at: 2016 University of South Florida Social Marketing Conference; June 17-18, 2016; Clearwater, FL.

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  Recent trends in the early childhood obesity epidemic: the good, the bad, and the unexpected.

  A Cantarero

  Presented at: New Mexico Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2016 Annual Conference and Expo; April 25-26, Santa Fe, NM.

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  Trends in early childhood obesity in a large, urban school district in the Southwest from 2007 to 2014.

  A Cantarero, Jimenez E. Yakes, O B. Myers, T Scharmen, P Kinyua, K Tollestrup, D Cohen, V Sanchez, and P Pribis

  Presented at: Experimental Biology 2016; April 2-6, 2016; San Diego, CA.

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  Engaging men for a sexual violence-free nation: a cross-sectional study of U.S.-based organizations.

  I Cervantes, L Woelk, and T Cruz

  Presented at: American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo; October 29-November 2, 2016; Denver, CO.

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  Mapping the incidence of rape reported to law enforcement in New Mexico and the availability of services to survivors.

  I Cervantes, L Woelk, and T Cruz

  Presented at: 2016 Annual Conference of the New Mexico Public Health Association; April 12-13, 2016; Las Cruces, NM.

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  VIVA II: a community-academic partnership promoting access to and consumption of water in a tri-ethnic community in rural New Mexico.

  T H. Cruz, S M. Davis, and A Ortega

  Presented at: American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo; October 29-November 2, 2016; Denver, CO.

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  Village Interventions and Venues for Action (VIVA II).

  S M. Davis

  Key note address presented at: The 30th Anniversary of the Prevention Research Centers at the CDC; February 29, 2016; Atlanta, GA.

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  The Science Around Us: creating culturally relevant STEM-H enrichment activities to engage rural students and community.

  S M. Davis, S Mishra, K Peters, A Begaye, and A Ortega

  Presented at: NIH SciEd 2016; May 9-12, 2016; Washington, DC.

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  My first year research experience: RAPS.

  I Guillen

  Presented at: 2016 Shared Knowledge Conference, University of New Mexico; April 11, 2016; Albuquerque, NM.

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  90 calories. 0 drama: how TV advertising is bolstering gendered food identities and promoting an unhealthy food culture in the United States.

  E A. Lilo

  Presented at: National Communication Association 102nd Annual Convention; November 10-13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA.

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  Patenting the sun: a critical discourse analysis of the HPV vaccine TV ads in the US, the UK and Australia.

  E A. Lilo

  Presented at: American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo; October 29-November 2, 2016; Denver, CO.

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  Developing a community profile tool for improving health in New Mexico rural communities.

  Q Martine, A Cantarero, and S M. Davis

  Presented at: 2016 Annual Conference of the New Mexico Public Health Association; April 12-13, 2016; Las Cruces, NM.

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  Measuring gender identity: issues for surveillance

  L Penaloza and L Tomedi

  Presented at: 1st Annual Conference on Care for the Underserved, UNM School of Medicine Rural and Urban Underserved Program; October 14, 2016; Albuquerque, NM.