Grants to promote COVID-19 vaccination among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the general population. Your increased risk can be attributed to a variety of causes: pre-existing conditions such as breathing problems or obesity; increased likelihood of living in shared flats, using common means of transport and being exposed to people outside their household; and struggles with safety precautions like wearing masks or social distancing.

Now, faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and clinicians at the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) at Montefiore Children’s Hospital have received three state and federal grants to help address this health inequality by promoting COVID-19 vaccination People with IDD, their families and caregivers in New York State. The Einstein-Montefiore team is creating bespoke messages and content for this community – including a series of videos, town halls, and social media posts – to help counter vaccine misinformation and promote vaccination.

“People with IDDs are among the hardest hit by the pandemic – both physically and emotionally,” said Karen Bonuck, Ph.D., co-director of the three fellowships and professor of Family and Social Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics & Gynecology and women’s health at Einstein. “It is vital that we protect the most vulnerable in our society and the best remedy we have right now against COVID-19 is vaccination.” The partner of Dr. Bonuck on the grants is Joanne Siegel, MSW, Principal Associate of Pediatrics; the two co-directors of Einstein’s Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (RFK UCEDD).

Funding of VaxFacts

The Einstein-Montefiore team was awarded $ 180,000 by the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) to lead the VaxFactsDDNY initiative, which brings science-based information to the New York IDD community through multiple nonprofit and clinical partners COVID-19 provides. The researchers also received two grants from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) totaling $ 94,000. You will use the grants to create materials for families and individuals with IDD as well as IDD experts in the Bronx, New York state, and across the country.

With the DDPC funding, we have already produced eight videos and will be rolling out a few more by autumn. “

Joanne Siegel, Principal Associate, Department of Pediatrics, Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

Each video shows a person explaining why they chose to be vaccinated. Speakers include Special Olympics athletes and coaches, people with IDD who stand up for themselves and their peers, and parents of people with IDD.

In addition, the VaxFacts team has set up social media accounts on three platforms – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – to share relevant news and original content. They also set up a resource bank for professionals in the IDD field to access a curated list of articles, tools, and research related to the effectiveness, safety, and methods of COVID-19, aimed at increasing the confidence and acceptance of vaccines to increase.

Increase reach

The CDC grants will help Einstein and Montefiore experts expand the reach of the VaxFacts campaign. The first grant supports the team’s participation in a national consortium of UCEDDs to promote vaccine uptake. The second will support doctor-run town halls hosted by Vincent Siasoco, MD, as well as the planning and running of IDD-friendly vaccination clinics that provide accommodations for people with IDDs, including quiet environments, trusted providers, and extra time for administration of vaccinations.

Earlier this month, the team produced a Facebook live event in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in New York and the New York State Office for New Americans. Scheduled events include a nationwide virtual conference hosted by VaxFactsDDNY and the Interagency Council of New York that will cover the latest scientific information on COVID-19, vaccine education, and mental health issues for families and people with IDD.

To ensure that the content reaches as many New Yorkers as possible, the videos and town halls are translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and Bengali.

Evidence-based content

Before developing the videos, Einstein and Montefiore researchers used DDPC funds to conduct a study of views on vaccination in the IDD community. In January 2021, the team surveyed 825 people with IDDs, carers who support them, and CERC staff who work with them. As reported in their article published this summer in the Disability and Health Journal, nearly 75% of those surveyed have received or planned to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, with rates highest among the elderly. Vaccine preferences at the time were in line with the general population, as were reasons for hesitation, including concerns that vaccines were being developed too quickly and had side effects. The researchers used this data to shape the VaxFacts initiative.

“Together with our partners, our targeted publicity and promotional activities will combat misinformation, dispel fears, and share science-based facts to ensure that our IDD community members and their families are confident and have access to life-saving vaccines,” said Dr. Bonuck.

Source:

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Journal reference:

Iadarola, S., et al. (2021) Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Community of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of New York State. Disability and Health Magazine. doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101178.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/16/grants-to-promote-covid-19-vaccination-among-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities/