Universities as Catalysts for COVID-19 Vaccination: A Call to Action

Abstract

Universities have the ability to be a strong community collaborator in mitigating the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic and ensuring that vaccination becomes a community norm. With their in-house expertise, ability to increase the reach of a message, and potential for vaccinating a large number of people, universities can be at the forefront of leading our country back to prepandemic times. This article discusses how universities can collaborate with communities to ensure mass vaccination, as well as give strategies to increase immunization rates on campus and beyond.

Types and outcomes of health promotion interventions led by public health students: a scoping review

“…The target populations of the health promotion interventions varied widely. They included the general public (18), university students (18, 19), and minority groups (20)(21)(22). All interventions that occurred in clinical settings targeted minority groups, such as Asian American and Pacific Islander (20), patients attending a free clinic (21), and people from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds (i.e., transgender women and uninsured adults) (22).…”

“…For example, in the creation of videos described by Brown et al, students were simply provided with a set of instructions on how to develop their own video content. On the other hand, when training students to deliver health education to patients attending a free clinic, a coach was assigned to guide the students on the delivery of the intervention (22). Impact was measured in different ways, depending on the intervention delivery mode.…”

“…Social media interventions used metrics such as the number of viewers (18) or content created and interactions (i.e., likes) (19). Interventions carried out in clinical settings measured the number of participants receiving screenings (20,22), health education (21,22) and vaccinations (20).…”

“…They included the general public (18), university students (18, 19), and minority groups (20)(21)(22). All interventions that occurred in clinical settings targeted minority groups, such as Asian American and Pacific Islander (20), patients attending a free clinic (21), and people from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds (i.e., transgender women and uninsured adults) (22). Two of the interventions were carried out through social media, using such methods as interacting with Instagram users (19) and creating videos to share information and inform the general public about different conditions (18).…”