Case Studies
In 2020, the world changed.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest public health challenge the world had faced in over a century. As the U.S. scrambled to respond, the crisis exacerbated the disproportionate health inequities impacting people of color and those from refugee, immigrant, migrant (RIM) backgrounds.
To improve COVID-19 health outcomes for RIM communities, IDEO.org partnered with the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the fall of 2020 to build community-driven vaccine confidence solutions.
Over the course of two years, we worked alongside 104 co-designers and 25 community-based organizations to develop six scaleable campaign and service toolkits that could address the unique needs of different communities. These resources were made accessible to organizations nationwide to support their efforts in increasing vaccination uptake in their own communities.
Engaging RIM community members as co-designers was the cornerstone of our design approach. By involving them as active participants, we gained a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the needs and realities of the communities we were designing for. This collaboration allowed our teams to create more culturally resonant materials, build upon the trust our community co-designers had already cultivated, and ultimately improve vaccination uptake.
By February 2024, the “Vaccination Is” campaign materials had been downloaded 9,374 times in 11 languages. This wide reach was a testament to the power of co-design. The eight community leaders who co-designed these materials shared that this experience introduced them to new modes of collaboration, fostering a sense of ownership that contributed to effective implementation and independent adaptation.
The “#NoJudgment” toolkit, released in February 2022, was adapted and piloted by four partners, with the aim of engaging young people in their communities. Come Together Houston, hosted a series of events with the toolkit, convening cultural partners, artists, and local public health leaders to share information and facilitate converation amongst young people. Vaccinations were also offered on the spot, encouraging both education and immediate action in a supportive environment.
Mothers x Mothers (MxM), launched in November 2022 with six partners, saw immediate results. Our partner, the Refugee Women’s Network, reported that 11 of 13 mothers were vaccinated after a prototype session, highlighting the effectiveness of materials designed by and for the community. Read more about Mother x Mothers in a case study published in Frontiers.
In September 2022, Canal Alliance used the Honest Conversations toolkit at a community fair, sharing over 50 vaccination stories and vaccinating more than 100 people. This event demonstrated the power of community-led storytelling in increasing vaccine confidence.
