With funding provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) launched an initiative titled Building COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Among Nurses and in Communities in Spring 2022. As part of this project, AACN awarded funding to 10 schools of nursing nationwide to launch targeted campaigns to build confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines and dispel health misinformation.
This initiative aims to help nursing school faculty and students have effective conversations about COVID-19 vaccinations to boost consumer confidence. The participating schools of nursing undertook a variety of education and outreach activities to reach individuals and populations at risk. These activities include engaging with faculty and students on how best to share factual COVID-19 vaccine information and respond to misinformation; developing learning resources and nursing curricula to improve vaccine confidence and connecting with health departments and community organizations to reach target populations.
To support the work of the schools of nursing, AACN provided technical assistance, including strategic guidance and communication support in the form of training, message development, social media outreach, and video production in collaboration with our partners at AACN-TV. This work also includes highlighting the work of the 10 schools and sharing learnings and best practices with the higher education and healthcare communities.