Are evidence-based vaccination interventions transferable to Ukrainian migrants? A Polish example

BACKGROUND: Ukrainian migrants (UM) are among underserved groups with limited access to use vaccination services. The RIVER-EU in Poland aims to identify and tailor the successful intervention which would address health system barriers to MMR/HPV vaccination identified during the 1st phase of the project. METHODS: Participatory action research approach (PAR) was introduced to bring Researchers, UM and other Stakeholders together to identify and discuss transferability of promising evidence-based vaccination interventions (HPV/MMR). Relevant topic guides were developed; these helped to conduct focus groups discussions and in-depth interviews aimed to assess the extent to which interventions were appropriate and identify facilitators/barriers for the transfer and implementation. RESULTS: UM community (mothers of adolescent children and general practitioners [GPs]), Polish GPs, policymakers, experts in vaccinology and gynecological oncology, representatives of the municipality and a non-governmental organization were identified as key stakeholders. To find and mobilize UM appeared to be the challenging task, as they are a diverse, hard-to-reach community. The lack of information about the HPV vaccine was another obstacle to mobilize this group. Engaging GPs was also difficult due to work overload, lack of time, incapacity; the lack of extra compensation negatively affected motivation to be involved. To gain the trust of stakeholders and to build relationships - consistent, transparent, inclusive communication and cooperation was needed; country coordinators played moderators’ role. CONCLUSIONS: To achieve consensus about the type of a tailor-made intervention requires creating clear communication channels and an open space where stakeholders can voice their opinions. PAR helped to achieve more meaningful insight into the transferability of MMR/HPV vaccination interventions by leveraging the collective wisdom of the researchers, UM community and other Stakeholders.