Projects
Current Projects
COVID-19 Vaccine Education & Assistance (2021-2024)
CIRE is working with the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) to expand the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program. A number of initiatives are being implemented across the state, including:
- COVID-19 vaccine education
- Clinician-to-clinician education
- Pharmacies and pharmacists as immunizers and educators
- Communication strategies to improve vaccine acceptance and counter misinformation
- Approaches to increase vaccine uptake in tribal communities
This three-year project is funded by NDDoH and totals $5,755,820.
Building Vaccine Confidence in North Dakota (2020-Present)
CIRE is addressing vaccine hesitancy in North Dakota by providing proactive infrastructure to healthcare facilities throughout the state. Project deliverables include:
- Curriculum content for healthcare provider training programs
- Reliable immunization information to pregnant mothers and expectant fathers
- Identification of immunization champions at Vaccines for Children enrolled clinics in high-risk counties
This project is funded by NDDoH and totals $149,003.
Read our published study, in partnership with NDSU Center for Collaboration and Advancement in Pharmacy (CAP Center): Assessment of a Virtual Educational Program on Health Professional Students’ Vaccine Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence Managing Patient Hesitancy.
Past Projects
Technical Assistance for the Sanford Health Immunization Program (2017-2021)
CIRE provided technical assistance for Sanford Health’s VaxChamp program with vaccination protocol development and data report building. The project was funded by Sanford Health and totaled $77,985.
Immunization Disparities in North Dakota (2017-2020)
CIRE studied immunization disparities in North Dakota focusing on racial, regional, rural and urban inequities. Staff conducted interviews and focus groups with healthcare and immunization stakeholders, collected and analyzed immunization data, and reviewed current literature.
Data from this project is being used to direct outreach and educational immunization activities. This multi-year project was funded by the NDDoH and totaled $378,012.
North Dakota Immunization Study (2015-2016)
NDDoH engaged CIRE to study immunization policies, practices, beliefs, and opinions in North Dakota. CIRE conducted focus groups and interviews with nearly 200 immunization stakeholders from across the state, collected and analyzed state and national data, and reviewed other states' immunization policies and practices. In June 2016, CIRE presented a report to the NDDoH with study findings and recommendations to improve immunization rates. View the study.
This project was funded by the NDDoH and totaled $91,935.
Provider-Parent Communication Techniques (2016-2017)
CIRE partnered with a local pediatric clinic for a pilot project that used enhanced communication techniques to address vaccine-hesitancy from parents at the medical encounter. The project measured provider satisfaction with and perceived efficacy of the communication techniques. In the future, CIRE hopes to expand this project by testing the communication strategies in multiple clinics to determine if such strategies are associated with increased vaccine acceptance.
This pilot project was funded by the Otto Bremer Foundation ($50,000) and the Dakota Medical Foundation ($50,000). View the published study.
HPV Vaccine Clinician-to-Clinician Education (2016-2019)
CIRE educated North Dakota's healthcare providers on how to effectively promote HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination to parents and patients at the medical encounter. CIRE staff and HPV subject experts provided clinician-to-clinician education to pediatric and family medicine providers using AFIX (assessment, feedback, incentives, eXchange) methodologies.
This project was funded by the Prevent Cancer Foundation ($25,000) and through a subcontracted NDDoH grant from the CDC ($401,519).
Future Projects
CIRE is seeking support for several research projects, including:
- Communication and education strategies at the medical encounter to improve parental understanding and acceptance of vaccination
- The impact of earlier maternal vaccine education, such as at pre-natal medical encounters and in the hospital setting post-delivery
- Partnerships with pharmacies and pharmacists, particularly in rural settings, to increase adult immunization opportunities
- Working with regional healthcare systems to identify strategies to hardwire best practices regarding immunizations into standard workflow and electronic medical records.