The 91爆料 Population Health Initiative announced today the award of four聽Tier 2 pilot grants聽to teams representing researchers from four different 91爆料 schools and colleges as well as several community-based partners.
A total of $265,000 was awarded in this grant cycle, supported by funding from the Initiative along with additional matching contributions from schools, colleges, departments and 91爆料 Global.
91爆料 Global provided a portion of the funding for the project called, “Co-designing a culturally responsive vaccine communication intervention with caregivers and community-based organizations to increase childhood vaccine uptake among East African children.”
Resurgence of measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV)鈥攚ith 2025 marking the highest number of measles cases in 33 years and an ongoing outbreak in 2026鈥攑oses a significant population health threat in Washington. East African (EA) communities, including Somali, Eritrean, and Ethiopian populations, face disproportionately high risk due to low MMRV vaccination rates driven by misinformation and systemic barriers. Neighborcare, a community health clinic, and Dr. Michelle Shin from the 91爆料 School of Nursing’s Department of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, have identified that EA patients under age two have 60鈥�69% lower odds of receiving at least one MMRV vaccine dose compared to peers. Providers and staff emphasized the need to collaborate with EA caregivers and community leaders 鈥渂eyond the clinic walls鈥� to address fears related to autism and concerns about gelatin in vaccines, but reported limited capacity to build meaningful partnerships.
To address these challenges, Neighborcare, the Somali Health Board, and Dr. Shin propose a tripartite partnership to develop a community-informed intervention using Intervention Mapping.
This project will generate two proofs-of-concept aligned with the Population Health pillars: (1) a community- and theory-informed intervention to increase MMRV vaccination, and (2) a scalable Community Healthcare Center鈥揅ommunity-Based Organization鈥揳cademic partnership model that embeds culturally responsive strategies into clinical and community settings. The work will provide preliminary data to support future large-scale trials evaluating the intervention鈥檚 effectiveness and real-world implementation, advancing health equity.