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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.119586v1 98/7/1314    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Coady, M. H. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Coady, M. H. Related Collections Health Promotion Other Health Service Delivery HIV/AIDS Homelessness Immunization/Vaccines African Americans/Blacks Hispanics/Latinos Drugs

Micaela H. Coady, MS, Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Shannon Blaney, MPH, Danielle C. Ompad, PhD, Sarah Sisco, MPH, MSSW, David Vlahov, PhD for the Project Viva Intervention Working Group

At the time of the study, Micaela H. Coady, Shannon Blaney, Danielle C. Ompad, Sarah Sisco, and David Vlahov were with the Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies at the New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY. Sandro Galea is with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, The University of Michigan, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, 1214 S University, Room 243, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548 (e-mail: sgalea{at}umich.edu).

Objectives. We sought to determine whether the work of a community-based participatory research partnership increased interest in influenza vaccination among hard-to-reach individuals in urban settings.

Methods. A partnership of researchers and community members carried out interventions for increasing acceptance of influenza vaccination in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, focusing on hard-to-reach populations (e.g., substance abusers, immigrants, elderly, sex workers, and homeless persons) in East Harlem and the Bronx in New York City. Activities targeted the individual, community organization, and neighborhood levels and included dissemination of information, presentations at meetings, and provision of street-based and door-to-door vaccination during 2 influenza vaccine seasons. Participants were recruited via multiple modalities. Multivariable analyses were performed to compare interest in receiving vaccination pre- and postintervention.

Results. There was increased interest in receiving the influenza vaccine postintervention (P<.01). Being a member of a hard-to-reach population (P=.03), having ever received an influenza vaccine (P<.01), and being in a priority group for vaccination (P<.01) were also associated with greater interest in receiving the vaccine.

Conclusions. Targeting underserved neighborhoods through a multilevel community-based participatory research intervention significantly increased interest in influenza vaccination, particularly among hard-to-reach populations. Such interventions hold promise for increasing vaccination rates annually and in pandemic situations.