Targeted Vaccinations: Community-Wide Education
Community-wide education provides information on vaccinations to a target population in a geographic area, sometimes including vaccination providers. Educational messages can be delivered by various methods (e.g., mail, radio, newspapers, television, or posters). The goal of community-wide education interventions is to increase or improve the availability of information and to increase people’s knowledge about vaccinations, thereby increasing their acceptance of and demand for vaccinations and, ultimately, increasing vaccination coverage.
Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings
The Community Preventive Services Task Force finds insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of using community-wide education when implemented alone in improving influenza, pneumococcal polysaccharide, or hepatitis B vaccination coverage in high-risk adults because no studies qualified for review.
Results from the Systematic Reviews
No studies were found that evaluated community-wide education when used alone.
These results were based on a systematic review of all available studies, conducted on behalf of the Task Force by a team of specialists in systematic review methods, and in research, practice, and policy related to vaccinations to prevent diseases.
Economic Review
An economic review of this intervention was not conducted because the Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine its effectiveness.
Supporting Materials
- Analytic framework
[PDF - 728KB] - see Figure 1 on page 251
Publications
CDC. Improving influenza, pneumococcal polysaccharide, and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among adults aged <65 years at high risk: a report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. MMWR 2005;54(No. RR-5):1-12. 
Task Force for Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to improve targeted vaccination coverage among high-risk adults. [PDF - 97KB] Am J Prev Med 2005:28(5S);231-7.
Ndiaye SM, Hopkins DP, Smith SJ, et al. Methods for conducting systematic reviews of targeted vaccination strategies for The Guide to Community Preventive Services. [PDF - 132KB] Am J Prev Med 2005:28(5S);238-47.
Ndiaye SM, Hopkins DP, Shefer AM, et al. Interventions to improve influenza, pneumococcal polysaccharide, and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among high-risk adults: a systematic review. [PDF - 728KB] Am J Prev Med 2005:28(5S);248-79.
Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Vaccine preventable diseases. [PDF - 97KB] In : Zaza S, Briss PA, Harris KW, eds. The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What Works to Promote Health? Atlanta (GA): Oxford University Press;2005:223-303.
More Community Guide publications about Vaccinations to Prevent Diseases
Disclaimer
The findings and conclusions on this page are those of the Community Preventive Services Task Force and do not necessarily represent those of CDC.
Sample Citation
The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. Sample citation: Guide to Community Preventive Services. Targeted vaccinations: community-wide education. www.thecommunityguide.org/vaccines/targeted/communityeducation.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.
Review completed: June 2002
- Page last reviewed: February 9, 2011
- Page last updated: January 14, 2012
- Content source: The Guide to Community Preventive Services
