Research Projects

Investigators: Julie Leask, Maria Christou-Ergos, Majdi Sabahelzain, Maryke Steffens (NCIRS), Kasia Bolsewicz (NCIRS) Jessica Kaufman (MCRI), Margie Danchin (MCRI)

Funding: NHMRC

Timeframe: 2023 – ongoing

Project Description: SABII leads the adult component of The National Vaccination Insights Project which provides ongoing monitoring of the barriers and drivers of influenza vaccination in Australian adults. Our researchers are working closely with the  Social Science unit at the National Centre for Immunization Research and Surveillance and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute  to investigate reasons for suboptimal vaccine coverage in Australia and provide recommendations for improving coverage.

In 2023, SABII supported the World Health Organization to adapt and validate  the Behavioural and Social Drivers of Influenza vaccination. The validated survey questions are used in the annual survey along with the in-depth interview guides which provide additional insights..

A summary of key study findings can be found here.

Investigators: Ikram Abdi, Rebika Nepali, Majdi Sabahelzain, Julie Leask. From the Western Sydney Public Health Unit: Catherine Bateman, Salwa Gabriel, Monika Latanik, Conrad Moreira, and Sophie Norton.

Funding: NHMRC  

Timeframe: 2024-2025

Project description:  There has been a decline in vaccination coverage for 12-month-old children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in two localities in the Cumberland Local Government Area (LGA) of Western Sydney: Auburn and Holroyd. In partnership with the Western Sydney Public Health Unit, SABII is exploring the factors underlying decreased uptake in children aged up to 5 years to gain feedback on existing programmatic efforts and inform new approaches by the Western Sydney Local Health District.

Investigators: Kerrie Wiley, Jane Williams, Chris Degeling (University of Wollongong)

Funding: NHMRC, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project Description: mRNA technology as a platform for vaccines was used to great effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also a source of controversy for pockets of the population. Concern shifted to the use of mRNA vaccines in cattle, with an online campaign warning consumers of the imagined danger of eating meat and drinking milk from mRNA-vaccinated livestock. In 2025, the United States government announced a winding back of funding for mRNA vaccine research.

We are conducting a mixed methods program of research to better understand Australians’ attitudes to mRNA vaccines, both in humans and in livestock that is used for milk and meat. In 2025 we conducted a survey of 2500 Australians to find out if they think about mRNA vaccination differently from vaccines that use traditional methods, if they would have an mRNA vaccine in future, their thoughts about mRNA vaccine use in humans and consuming milk and meat from livestock that have received mRNA vaccines. In 2026 we are undertaking a qualitative interview study to better understand the opinions of people who are opposed to and people who are supportive of vaccines that use mRNA technology.

Investigators: Maile-Ann Dupuy (Sydney School of Veterinary Sciences), Kerrie Wiley

Funding: NHMRC, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project Description: This survey of Australian Veterinarians sought insight into their experiences of dog owner’s hesitancy toward canine vaccination in their clinical practice, and vet’s concerns about canine vaccine hesitancy, and what resources are needed to support conversations in the clinic with vaccine-hesitant dog owners.  The survey and analysis include a novel application of the WHO BeSD framework for childhood vaccination to canine vaccination.

Funding: World Health Organization and NHMRC

Timeframe: 2022-2026

Project Description: SABII has undertaken work for the World Health Organization to support the implementation of tools for Measuring the Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination (BeSD) which include surveys and in-depth interview guides that identify the main factors influencing vaccine uptake from the perspective of individuals.  Between 2018 and 2022, Professor Leask chaired the BeSD working group and development of the tools. Associate Professor Wiley was a member of the group. The tools have been used in over 115 countries to inform policy and programs. SABII have since supported the development of training and intervention briefs.

Resources: Package of tools and guidance to support programmes and partners to assess and address behavioural and social drivers (BeSD) of vaccination.

Partners: Instituto Nasional de Saúde Público Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (Australia)

Funding: GAVI, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2025 – 2026

Project Description: This qualitative study aims to gather insights from parents of un- and under-vaccinated children in three municipalities in Timor Leste, to understand barriers and facilitators to childhood vaccination.

Investigators and Partners: Julie Leask, Cristyn Davies, Daffodil Centre, Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (ACPCC); the Kirby Institute UNSW, Family Planning Australia (FPA), the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and Unitaid.

Funding: DFAT 

Timeframe: 2023-2027 

Project Description: The Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC) program is co-designed as part of the Australian Government’s Partnerships for a Healthy Region (PHR) initiative to support cervical cancer elimination in the region and improved, sustainable health outcomes and equity. EPICC aims to leverage regional partnerships and Australian leadership in cervical cancer control to meet the strategic objectives of the PHR initiative and the needs of partner countries. The project is structured around six priority areas of work: Support for HPV vaccination programs (co-led by NCIRS and SABII), implementation of HPV screening programs, laboratory strengthening, digital screening registries, support for cervical cancer management, policy and advocacy support.

Partners: Instituto Nasional de Saúde Público Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (Australia)

Funding: Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2026-2027

Project Description: This qualitative study aims to gather narrative accounts of Timorese dog bite victims’ experiences in seeking rabies post exposure prophylaxis, to understand barriers and facilitators to receiving the recommended treatment and how to improve rabies PEP uptake in Timor Leste.

Investigators: Anne-Mare Eades, Dr Christopher Blyth, Zoe Bradfield, Juli Coffin, Prof Julie Leask, Tilsa Guima, Katie Attwell, Faye McMillan, Melanie Robinson & Francine Eades

Timeframe: 2026 – 2028

Funding: Stan Perron Foundation

Project Description: The program aims to identify and implement strategies to improve vaccine knowledge, access and uptake, and develop policy recommendations to improve vaccine uptake. It is being led by Professor Anne-Marie Eades at Curtin University. Studies will explore vaccination barriers and enablers in Aboriginal communities in Western Australia through a series of community yarning sessions. It will then develop an intervention educational program using an Aboriginal co-design framework to develop and implement educational resources to address vaccine hesitancy and improve vaccination uptake and healthcare delivery for Aboriginal pregnant women and their children. SABII are supporting the workshop design, delivery and evaluation.

Investigators: Kerrie Wiley, Jaime Toney (University of Glasgow)

Funders: University of Sydney Office of Global Research and Engagement, Glasgow Centre for International Development, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project description: Current approaches to addressing human and non-human health challenges in local places often fail because they overlook the complexity of the systems in which the issues are situated. Interventions frequently treat communities as interchangeable, failing to recognise the lived experiences, identities, and interdependencies that influence how people relate to the more-than-human worlds. Fragmented understandings, short-term project cycles, and externally imposed framings marginalise local knowledge, weaken trust, and limit accountability across sectors and scales. Single-issue interventions within political boundaries ignore interconnections and potential co-benefits and unintended consequences that fail to create sustainable, intergenerational change. In December 2025 we convened the “Bridging Place-based Values, Knowledge and Systems: Aiming to Thrive” workshop, connecting researchers and practitioners who are currently trialling transdisciplinary, place-based approaches through different combinations of disciplinary lenses. Drawing on participants’ collective experience and disciplinary viewpoints in place-based research, the aim of the workshop was to challenge conventional approaches and to develop shared principles for addressing issues that engage complexity, honour diverse knowledge systems, and deepen relationships between communities and their environments. The workshop output was a set of guiding principles for place-based approaches to planetary health issues that lay the foundation for the next phase of this work: To develop a conceptual framework and resource(s) that can guide people in transdisciplinary ways of working to address planetary health problems, and a methodological approach to test the framework and resource.

Investigators: Majdi Sabahelzain, Julie Leask, Kerrie Wiley

Funding: NHMRC and the Scholars at Risk program

Timeframe: 2023-2025

Project Description: This research project aims to better understand the challenges of vaccination and identify opportunities to improve vaccine coverage in marginalized populations, such as conflict-affected communities. According to the annual WHO/UNICEF immunisation coverage estimates and based the Equity Reference Groups for Immunization (ERG), these populations experience high rates of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children. This interdisciplinary project will address vaccination in these settings from various perspectives, including epidemiology, social sciences, equity and ethics. To achieve this research objective, we will employ mixed-methods approaches, including scoping/systematic reviews and qualitative methods. The findings from this research will provide valuable insights that can inform the development of equitable interventions in these conflict-affected situations.

Collaborators: Kerrie Wiley; Fransisca Samsing-Pedrals (Sydney School of Veterinary Science); Taya Forde, Cindy Gray, and Angelo Mendez (University of Glasgow); Robinson Mdegela, Janeth George (Sokoine University, Tanzania); Sophia Shaban (Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute); Mags Crumlish (University of Stirling).

Funding: Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, Glasgow Centre for International Development, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2024

Project Description: This mixed methods project assessed disease prevention practices and needs, including vaccination in open cage fish farming industry in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.  Qualitative interviews followed by structured stakeholder engagement identified challenges and potential solutions.  See report: Healthy Aquaculture in Tanzania: Assessing Current Challenges and Potential Solutions [pdf download English version] [pdf download Swahili version].

Investigator: Ikram Abdi

Funding: NHMRC  

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project description:  Vaccine uptake is crucial for public health, yet disparities persist amongst refugee and migrant communities due to various barriers. The aim of this project is to understand the policy and program level challenges that hinder the successful implementation of strategies designed to improve vaccine uptake within refugee and migrant populations. This project involves a qualitative study exploring policy and program level barriers to implementing strategies for improving vaccine uptake in refugee and migrant populations in New South Wales. The findings of this study will provide policymakers and healthcare administrators with actionable policy recommendations to address vaccine equity in refugee and migrant communities in Australia. By understanding successful strategies and identifying gaps in current policies, stakeholders can develop more effective and culturally sensitive interventions to promote vaccination amongst communities.

Investigators: Julie Leask, Hassan Vally (Deakin University), Maria Christou-Ergos, Adeline Tinessia

Timeframe: 2024-2025

Project description: Uncertainty is inherent in population health science and its presence and how uncertainty is communicated, can influence how individuals interpret and perceive risks and make decisions. Individuals’ attitudes towards vaccines are shaped by their perceptions of associated risks and benefits, and uncertainties about vaccines encompass a spectrum of concerns and doubts about vaccine safety, efficacy, and side effects. 

Communicating vaccine uncertainty is critical to informing people, being transparent about knowledge of risk to address people’s questions and concerns and engender trust in vaccination programs. This literature review seeks to identify, synthesise, and understand the effectiveness of existing strategies for communicating scientific uncertainty about vaccination.

Investigators: Julie Leask and Adeline Tinessia

Timeframe: 2026

Project description: SABII is developing and testing “Emily”, an AI chatbot agent that simulates a vaccine-hesitant parent. It will help students and health professionals to practice the communication skills we teach them. We aim to provide scalable, realistic training to prepare the next generation of health professionals to have confident, empathic conversations about vaccination.

Partners: Centers for Disease Control, US, and Taskforce for Global Health

Funding: Taskforce for Global Health

Timeframe: 2020-2027

Project Description:This project developed and evaluated an evidence-informed e-learning toolkit to strengthen peer-to-peer communication about vaccines. The training aimed to equip community members with practical skills to support informed vaccine decision-making. Evaluation has been guided by implementation science framewoks.

In Phase 1 in 2021, the toolkit was first piloted and refined within a Somali-American diaspora community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later field-tested in Nairobi, Kenya. Phase 2 extended the adaptation and application of the toolkit to Indonesia in 2025 with the aim of making it a shelf-ready toolkit to be adapted for use in any country. The testing occured in Batam City, Indonesia and led by our partners at Universitas Gadja Madah, Tulodo, the Task Force for Global Health and the US CDC. Insights from these adaptations are anticipated to guide recommendations for adapting and scaling the toolkit in other low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts to promote vaccine confidence and uptake.

Investigators: Majdi Sabahelzain, Adeline Tinessia, Catherine King, Rebika Nepali, Siddig Mohamedali, Janeth George, Victoria J. Brookes, Kerrie Wiley

Project description: This research identifies and explores non-hierarchical models for delivering health services to mobile pastoralist populations in Africa, specifically focusing on the co-delivery of human and animal vaccinations. Livestock is vital for the sustenance and economic well-being of pastoralists, making animal health a critical priority. The study aims to explore equitable strategies to engage marginalised mobile communities, including nomads, in order to reach zero-dose and under-vaccinated children while ensuring that interventions respect their mobility and lifestyle. This approach aligns with the growing emphasis on the One Health model across Sub-Saharan Africa and provides a comprehensive assessment and synthesis of these interventions.

Investigators: Julie Leask, Meru Sheel (IDIE: Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies), Madeleine Randell, Ikram Abdi, Catherine King, Maria Christou-Ergos, Majdi Sabahelzain, Penelope Robinson.

Funding: World Health Organization

Timeframe: 2024-2026

Project Description: This project is a collaboration between SABII and the Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies group. Commissioned by the WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals department, it aims to understand the factors which contributed to changes in confidence in routine immunization during the pandemic. It aims to provide insights into factors that promote resilient demand for vaccination and inform future planning and prioritisation.  The project focuses on 8 low-and-middle-income countries who have agreed to participate and where varying impacts on EPI coverage were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. SABII is conducting a rapid review of the literature, key informant interviews and case studies.

Investigators: Julie Leask, Pen Robinson, Maria Christou-Ergos, Ikram Abdi

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project description: SABII researchers are working with the Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit to evaluate the “Vaccination @ Concord” initiative. The initiative is being implemented at Concord General Repatriation Hospital and seeks to improve vaccination coverage in adults attending the hospital’s health facilities. The research team will conduct interviews with key stakeholders guided by the The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Insights generated will inform ongoing implementation and support the initiative in achieving its intended outcomes.

Investigators: Majdi Sabahelzain, Ikram Abd, Madeleine Randel, Hans Bosma, Julie Leask and Kerrie Wiley

Funding: NHMRC  

Timeframe: 2024-2025

Project description: In this study, we analyse trends in confidence in institutions and vaccines before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the correlation between these factors after the pandemic in three selected countries, India, Morocco, and the Netherlands. We assessed publicly available data on vaccine and institutional confidence through the World Value Survey (WVS) and the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP).

Investigators: Lucy Furfaro (University of Western Australia); Kerrie Wiley; Ruth Zadoks and Carola Ventrurini (Sydney School of Veterinary Science); Philippa Grimson (Miracle Babies); Marti Perhach (Group B Strep International); Jane Plumb (Group B Strep support); Laura Bonofiglio (University of Buenos Aires).

Funder: Raine Medical Research Foundation, NHMRC, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2026Project description: Group B streptococcus is the leading cause of neonatal sepsis and also contributes to preterm birth and stillbirth. Several approaches are used to address GBS globally, including  vaccination, screening and antibiotics, and more are in development, however poor understanding of patient perceptions and experience often hinder successful implementation and policy.  This workshop will bring together scientists, physicians, policy makers and parent / patient advocacy groups to map the current GBS landscape in Australia, and develop a framework to guide future research and funding.

PhD Candidate: Adeline Tinessia

Supervisors: Julie Leask, Meru Sheel, Bagas Suryo Bintoro (Universitas Gajah Mada)
Timeframe: 2024-2027
Project description: This PhD project aims to examine the role of religious leaders in routine immunisation in Indonesia. Adeline Tinessia is investigating how religious leaders and institutions’ are embedded in national immunisation policies. It seeks to understand how religious leaders are being utilised into routine immunisation program, explore religious leaders’ understanding of immunisation , their beliefs, and how they perceive their role. It will propose evidence-based recommendations for working with religious leaders to enhance immunisation coverage and community engagement.

PhD Candidate: Rebika Nepali

Supervisors: Kerrie Wiley, Julie Leask, Cameron Webb, Victoria Brookes
Timeframe: 2024-2027

Project Description: This PhD project is examining awareness and knowledge about mosquito borne diseases in Australia. It investigates the social and behavioural drivers of mosquito borne disease prevention, with a focus on Japanese Encephalitis vaccination.

PhD Candidate: Yoel Setiawan

Supervisors: Julie Leask, Mu Li, Madeleine Randell

Timeframe: 2025-2028

Project Description: This research examines how hesitancy about multiple vaccines is experienced by parents and providers in Indonesia and policy and program contexts that affect this phenomenon. It aims to highlight the barriers of multiple vaccines and strategies to mitigate the issue.  Yoel Setiawan is conducting a desk review, observations in clinic settings and semi-structured interviews with government officials, parents, health providers, cadres, faith / community leaders, and non-government organization. It aims to provide recommendations to policymakers in enacting strategies to mitigate multiple vaccine hesitancies and increase routine immunisation coverage.

PhD Candidate: Nicole Batten

Supervisors: Emerita Bronwyn Winter and Kerrie Wiley

Timeframe: 2020-2024

Project Description: An examination on the functionality of EU health law during the COVID-19 pandemic and a comparative case study of national EU Member State COVID-19 vaccine policies and laws, and their effect on disease manifestations and socio-political responses. This interdisciplinary research aims to examine how the pandemic impacted health policy across the EU, demonstrating a move towards further health integration during the unprecedented crisis, disregarding the norm of maintaining state sovereignty over health issues. The research will carry out a comparative case study of the COVID-19 vaccine policies and COVID-19 epidemiological patterns of Italy, France, Sweden, Poland, and Romania. Each country is a reflection of the diversity of the EU and had a distinctive response to the pandemic. 

Masters candidate:  Claire Farrant

Investigators: Kerrie Wiley, Catherine King, Emma Campbell, Victoria Brookes and Christine Hong (Sydney School of Veterinary Science), Katie Hampson (University of Glasgow)

Funder: NHMRC, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2025-2026

Project description: Seeking timely rabies post-exposure prophylaxis following animal bite is critical for bite victim survival.  There have been studies in several countries examining the barriers to PEP-seeking behaviour, but a systematic review of the global literature is needed.  This review will synthesise the published literature on the drivers and barriers to rabies PEP seeking behaviour, using a novel adaptation of the UNICEF caregiver journey for childhood vaccination.

Investigators: Liz Harwood, Kristy Crooks, Katrina Clark, Kylie Taylor, Pete Murray Hunter New England, Population Health

Julie Leask, University of Sydney

Kasia Bolsewicz, NCIRS

Timeframe: 2022-2025

Project description: This study assessed the effectiveness of Aboriginal-led vaccine conversation workshops attended by 70 participants, most of whom provide immunisation services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Hunter New England (HNE) region, in New South Wales.  The workshops – titled ‘Keeping Mob safe: yarning about vaccination’ – were designed and facilitated by Aboriginal public health professionals: Elizabeth Harwood, Kylie Taylor, Katrina Clark and Kristy Crooks – and incorporated Indigenist research methodologies, enabling control over data and honouring Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles.  They were supported by SABII team members, Prof Julie Leask and Dr Maria Christou-Ergos  and other non-Aboriginal public health experts with backgrounds in immunisation, public health and social science (Peter Murray and Jody Stephenson of the HNE Public Health Unit, Kasia Bolsewicz from NCIRS)

Facilitators created a culturally safe environment where workshop participants could discuss their experiences with, and concerns about, scheduled and recommended vaccinations through different types of ‘yarning’ – enabling the open sharing of ideas, suggestions and concerns.The work has been published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health study It also has been shared for wider use as a toolkit and is informing the ‘Closing the Vaccination Gap’ study in WA led by Anne Marie Eades.

Investigators: Kerrie Wiley; Fransisca Samsing-Pedrals, Vincenzo Costa, Jeremy Carson, and Charles Caraguel (Sydney School of Veterinary Science)

Funding: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Timeframe: 2023-2025

Project description: This mixed methods key informant study assessed the Australian aquaculture landscape, including diagnostic capability and practices to inform Australia’s aquatic animal health planning and policy.

Investigators: Kerrie Wiley, Emma Campbell, Nicole Batten, Catherine King, Jane Frawley (UTS), Katie Attwell (UWA), Margie Danchin (MCRI, Uni Melb), Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation (COSSI).

Timeframe: 2023-2025

Project description: Collaborative study with the Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation (COSSI) to inform inclusion of Social Science in the structure and function of an Australian Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) . Qualitative interviews with key informants working in or with CDC-type organisations from ten countries were undertaken to ascertain best practice for embedding social science in CDC-type organisations.  The interviews complemented a review of CDC / public health  organisation websites 37 EOCD countries and a desk review of the published literature on the use of social science in public health decision-making.

The study identified three organisational models of including social science in public health agencies, dependent on a country’s context and successful to varying degrees:

1. Embedded (social science within the public health agency)
2. Hub and Spoke (social science data collection, analysis, synthesis and sometimes translation conducted externally)
3. Hybrid (a combination of i and ii), which we see as the most appropriate model for embedding social science into the Australian CDC

Three pillars of important considerations for embedding social science into a newly established CDC were also identified, namely:

PEOPLE – The right expertise and capacity for social science is essential, including personnel who can translate data into practical advice for decision-makers and a combination of subject-specific and methodological expertise. This will require extending beyond the biomedical paradigm and accessing interdisciplinary expertise, avoiding disciplinary silos and creating collaborative environments.

SYSTEMS – Formalised institutional structures and processes that embed social science are needed, including transparent data collection processes, and institutional relationships and systems to support a sustainable workforce with surge capacity. Inclusion of social science experts at the decision-making table is also key. FUNDING – Secure, consistent funding systems that support and sustain a social science workforce and systems under both normal circumstances and during crises is essential.

Investigators: Julie Leask, Claire Hooker, Pen Robinson, Stephanie Mantilla, Jane Williams. Lyn Gilbert (USYD), Chris Degeling (UoW), Su-yin Hor (UTS)

Funding: NHMRC Ideas Grant and NHMRC Investigator Grant

Timeframe: 2022-2024

Project Description: This qualitative study is exploring the challenges journalists faced in reporting on COVID-19 in Australia by documenting and analysing journalists’ experiences, perspectives, and challenges. It involves in-depth interviews with reporters, editors and producers from major Australia media outlets across print, radio and television.

Investigator: Maria Christou-Ergos 

Supervisors: Prof. Julie Leask and Dr. Kerrie Wiley

Funding: NHMRC Centre of Research

Timeframe: 2020-2023

Project description:The aim of this research was to understand how the experience of psychological trauma influences vaccination decisions. It built on what is known about vaccine hesitancy and developed trauma-informed vaccination interventions for vaccine delivery services. It included; (a) a qualitative exploration of how medical trauma influences the vaccination decisions of non-vaccinating parents; (b) a national survey investigating associations between vaccine hesitancy and traumatic life events, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and the traumatic vaccination experiences of others; (c) a survey of older Australians and associations between vaccine hesitancy and traumatic events, social support and psychological distress; (d) a guidance for vaccination providers to improve the vaccination experiences of people affected by trauma.

Investigators: Julie Leask, Meru Sheel, Mu Li, Madeleine Randell and Adeline Tinessia (USyd), Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono and Oktarinda Miko (Universitas Indonesia), Margie Danchin (MCRI), Michelle Dynes (UNICEF EAPRO), Kylie Jenkins (consultant)

Funding: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)

Timeframe: 2021 – 2023

Project description: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on maternal and child health services in Indonesia. This was due to reduced access to key services as well as fear of COVID-19 driving reluctance to attend services. One outcome of this was a decline in routine immunisation coverage among young children. Despite a COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in January 2021, only 66% of adults had received their second dose and 20% had received their third dose by April 2022.  

This study aimed to better understand the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to routine immunization, other maternal and child health services and COVID-19 vaccination amongst caregivers of young children and healthcare providers in Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. We used the BeSD surveys with additional questions developed with a technical advisory group. In total, 1399 caregivers and 604 healthcare providers from eight districts across two provinces, i.e., Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara, participated in a cross-sectional survey. Data collection of the study was conducted in March to April 2022 and findings have been published: Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on caregiver beliefs and experiences of routine childhood immunisation in Indonesia

Investigators: Julie Leask, Kerrie Wiley, Maria Christou-Ergos, Adeline Tinessia, Sonya Ennis (NSW Health) and Sarah Hynes (NSW Health)

Timeframe: January-February 2025

Project description:  Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a substantial drop in adolescent vaccination coverage. To address this, NSW Health Protection Branch engaged the SABII team to undertake a rapid literature scan. The scan assembled existing knowledge and evidence gaps and identified strategies to improve coverage. The SABII team then worked with NSW Health Protection Branch to facilitate a workshop attended by public health unit directors and key NSW immunisation program staff members. The workshop aimed to identify influences on school-based vaccination uptake and determine what strategies could be implemented to increase uptake in 2025.

Collaborators: Jessica Kropich-Grant and Victoria Brookes (Sydney School of Veterinary Science); Kerrie Wiley; Jennifer Manyweathers (Charles Sturt University); Kirrily Thompson (University of Newcastle)

Funding: NHMRC, Sydney Horizons Scheme

Timeframe: 2022-2023

Project Description: This literature review examined the evidence on the drivers of Hendra vaccine acceptance by horse owners, and the existing communication tools available to support conversations between veterinarians and horse owners. Analysis included a novel application of the WHO BeSD framework for childhood vaccination, modified for equine vaccination.