Building Trust in Vaccines: Our Journey So Far
At the intersection of public health, behavioural science, and community engagement, our team has spent the last four years exploring one of the most critical factors in vaccination programs worldwide: trust. What began as a focused research initiative has evolved into a global collaboration that spans continents and cultures, offering valuable insights into how trust shapes vaccine decisions.
Our Trust Framework
Through extensive research across diverse communities, we've developed a Trust Framework that correlates directly with vaccine uptake. This framework helps us understand the complex factors that influence whether someone chooses to vaccinate themselves or their children. Rather than viewing vaccine hesitancy as simply a knowledge gap, our approach recognises that vaccine trust is multidimensional – and inextricable from the systems and societies in which it operates. Much more information about the framework itself, and our process for building it, can be found on this website.
The key point is this: our data consistently shows that when trust is high across dimensions, vaccination rates are higher. This isn't just academically interesting; it provides practical pathways for improving public health outcomes.
A Global Team Effort
None of this work would be possible without our brilliant partners around the world. From local community organisations to international health agencies, academic institutions to government health departments – our collaborations have enriched our understanding and expanded our impact.
These partnerships remind us that building trust in vaccines isn't just about messaging or education; it's about creating global, sustained collaboration around a shared commitment to health.
Looking Ahead
As we continue our exploration of trust in vaccines, we're excited to share our findings, challenges, and breakthroughs through this blog. We'll be updating regularly with insights from our ongoing research, practical applications of our Trust Framework, and stories from the communities we work with.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how crucial vaccine trust is for global public health. But whether we're facing a pandemic or working to protect children from preventable childhood diseases, understanding and building trust remains essential work.
Stay tuned for more as our journey continues. We invite you to join the conversation about how we can collectively strengthen trust in vaccines and, by extension, in the public health systems that deliver them.
This blog represents the first in a series documenting our team's ongoing work in understanding and building trust in vaccines across diverse global contexts.
