Determinants of Health & Vaccine Equity

In this episode of REACHing for Vaccine Equity, learn how one COVID-19 and flu vaccination program tackled disease prevention, grew healthcare access, and improved vaccine equity in a cross-city effort. In the “Determinants of Health & Vaccine Equity” episode, hear Irene Nfaazie Nyanuba, Vaccine Program Manager at Worcester Division of Public Health, and Matthew Moore, Staff Writer at the City of Worcester, share how they worked together to reach people across the city of Worcester, including underserved populations of various racial/ethnic communities and pockets of immigrant populations, including those from Ghana. This project worked within faith communities to impact obesity and hypertension prevention while improving access to and trust in vaccines.

In this episode hosted by AIM iREACH project Public Health Consultant Dr. Yabo Beysolow:

• Get inspiration from this group effort that spanned the entire city, wrapping their arms around the complex subcommunities of the population and creating novel solutions to reach them.
• Hear how the program confronted misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine in the community.
• Explore how building trusted relationships is critical to improving vaccine equity.
• Learn how “meeting people where they are” was vital in reaching African American and African Immigrant communities for this project to improve COVID-19 and flu vaccination confidence.

 

About Irene: 

Irene has worked as a public health professional for over 15 years, and her expertise includes community nutrition, disease control, and health promotion. She served as the District Nutrition Officer, HIV Coordinator, and Health Promotion Officer, where she led projects to reduce maternal and child malnutrition, chronic nutrition-related diseases, and maternal-to-child HIV transmission. She has also led immunizations and HIV stigma reduction campaigns. In addition, she has facilitated many workshops to build the capacity of community members to support infection prevention, food demonstration, exercise, and healthy lifestyle modification. As Worcester’s Division of Public Health Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Vaccine Program Manager, Irene works closely with community partners to increase vaccine knowledge and provide vaccination opportunities among Hispanic, Latino, and other underrepresented and at-risk populations facing health disparities and inequities. In addition, she focuses on integrating vaccine education with different expressed health needs of the community, such as hypertension, diabetes, and physical exercise, to increase awareness of the cross-impact of vaccination and other diseases. Irene has a diploma in Community Health (Nutrition and Disease Control), a Bachelor of Science in Community Nutrition, and recently graduated from Clark University with a Master’s in Health Science, Community, and Global Health.

 

About Matthew: 

Matthew Moore is the Staff Writer in the Office of City Manager Eric D. Batista, City of Worcester. He supports the City Manager’s speaking engagements, City-wide internal communications, and storytelling campaigns while managing the Worcester Division of Public Health’s (WDPH) communications initiatives. Matthew joined the City Manager’s Office in 2023 after serving as WDPH Communications Specialist since 2021, where he launched the Division’s regional newsletter and redesigned the City’s COVID-19 data dashboard. Before working for the City of Worcester, Matthew was Communications Coordinator to Dean Bess Marcus and later Dean Ashish Jha at the Brown University School of Public Health. Matthew is a native of the Boston area and has over 15 years of professional communications experience. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Science in Nutrition from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. He also serves on the Programs Committee for Community Harvest Project in Grafton.

 

Connect and Links: 

Irene's Twitter

Irene's Instagram

Worcester Division of Public Health Twitter

Worcester Division of Public Health Instagram

Worcester Division of Public Health - Church Initiative

Worcester Division of Public Health Website

 

About the Podcast:

Make sure to subscribe to the REACHing for Vaccine Equity podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear about the intersection of vaccination and other critical health topics, including kidney disease, heart disease, food insecurity, diabetes, lung disease, family vaccination in rural areas, pregnancy/breastfeeding, and healthcare access/community sustainability.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generously funds this podcast series. All episodes will be recorded and produced in 2023 to contain the most recent health information.