The next phase of the project 'Increasing migrants' access to vaccine information in the Tri-City', funded by the National Academic Exchange Agency's Intervention Grants programme, has been completed. As part of the project, six meetings between doctors and migrants from Ukraine were organised in February and March 2024. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about the vaccination system for adults and children in Poland.
The meetings were held in both in-person and online formats. Three of them, organised in the building of the Faculty of Social Sciences UG, were coordinated by the project manager and CZRUG International Cooperation Programme Coordinator dr Elżbieta Czapka and CZRUG project manager Jolanta Mrozek-Kwiatkowska. The next three online meetings were led by Culture (for) Sustainable Development programme coordinator dr Irena Chawrilska and dr Weronika Kamińska-Skrzyńska from the Department of Sociology of Medicine and Social Pathology at the Medical University of Gdańsk.
‘As part of the intervention grant, six specialists were invited to collaborate, all of whom run their day-to-day medical practices in outpatient clinics and hospitals in Gdańsk, Gdynia, or Sopot. Many of them are socially committed in the context of education in health-promoting behaviour,’ points out dr Elżbieta Czapka.
Migrants had the opportunity to ask questions about adult and child vaccination in Poland. Many people also tried to find out more about vaccinations for the elderly. However, the largest number of questions were about the vaccination of children and the differences between the Polish and Ukrainian vaccination systems.
Participants in the intervention meetings also had the opportunity to learn more about the functioning of the Polish healthcare system. Practical tips on how to use healthcare facilities were provided by doctors working in them.
Project ‘Increasing migrants' access to vaccine information in the Tri-city’
The project entitled ‘Increasing migrants' access to vaccine information in the Tri-City‘ is funded by the National Academic Exchange Agency under the Intervention Grants programme. The grant is implemented by dr Elżbieta Czapka (MUG), dr Veronika Kamińska-Skrzyńska (MUG), dr Irena Chawrilska (MUG) and mgr inż. Jolanta Mrozek-Kwiatkowska (MUG) in close collaboration with a team of researchers from the Pandemic Centre based at the Alrek Health Cluster, Bergen (Centre Director Professor Esperanza Diaz, Marta-Johanna Svendsen, and Andrea Magugliani).
The project includes research activities that, due to the need for a rapid response, are not possible by applying for other existing funding mechanisms. It addresses the topic of access to vaccination knowledge among refugees, disparities in vaccination calendars, low enforceability of mandatory vaccination and the growing activity of anti-vaccination movements. Knowing, asking questions and collectively addressing concerns about vaccination has the potential to influence a sense of collective responsibility regarding public health in Poland, which can benefit immigrants and all residents of Poland.
As part of the project, the foreign partnership will carry out education and engagement activities consisting of three stages:
- diagnosis - including discussion on the social challenges of the pandemic, preparation of diagnostic and didactic-consultation materials,
- intervention and inclusion - including monitoring the invitation of other migrants, organising and carrying out interventions,
- evaluation in the Tricity area, including conducting structured in-depth interviews, analysis of results, and preparation of recommendations.
The project will end on July 3, 2024.