Co-design and implement a COVID-19 vaccine uptake intervention within Chinese Communities in England

About the project

This project investigated the determinants of Chinese communities’ COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, as well as the facilitators of vaccination uptake. The cross-disciplinary project team, including specialists in community-based research, communicative intervention design, health and strategic communication, who worked in partnership with Chinese communities in Greater Manchester and Leicester to co-design research that informed our understanding of how these factors manifest and interact.

The research was conducted through focus groups with community members and workers, which explored how their life histories and experience, understanding and attitudes, risks perceptions, sources of information and trust in healthcare and government informed their views on vaccination. The findings fed into the design of a series of communicative interventions, created in partnership with Chinese communities, which aimed to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. You can access these through their YouTube Channel.

Key policy recommendations include:

• NHS Clinical Commission Groups (CCGs) should provide health resources through formal community organisations (like the Wai Yin Society), informal community hubs (e.g., Chinese supermarkets, hair salons) and appropriate social media platforms.
• CCGs should provide resources to translate vaccine (or other public health emergency information) from English to Cantonese/Mandarin, two widely spoken dialects within Chinese communities.
• Government and health systems should engage with universities and research institutions to coordinate health messages, design and promote guidance and communication.