The project aimed to empower healthcare professionals to promote vaccination and combat vaccine hesitancy through various strategies: 1. Increase healthcare professionals' knowledge on vaccines and vaccination, providing reliable information sources and tools tailored to disadvantaged groups and vaccine-hesitant individuals to overcome fears and strengthen confidence in vaccines. 2. Enhance aspects related to vaccination in healthcare training curricula by developing an innovative Training Curriculum focused on promoting vaccination and addressing vaccine hesitancy. 3. Bridge gaps in knowledge, skills, and competences of nurses and healthcare professionals through Bite-sized Learning Tools for self-learning, enabling them to update their knowledge and skills to combat vaccine hesitancy. 4. Improve the quality of continuing and initial training programs for healthcare workers involved in vaccination by creating an innovative Training Course on vaccination, utilizing digital learning and online methodologies (MOOC). 5. Enhance the European dimension and quality in education and training activities, preparing learners, trainers, and staff to effectively promote vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy.
The project directly addresses the challenges of vaccine hesitance by focusing on training health professionals to become reliable sources of vaccine information. It aims to empower them with the necessary skills to effectively communicate the benefits, risks, and importance of vaccination, thereby building public trust and confidence in vaccines. This aligned with the objectives outlined in both EU and national strategies for COVID vaccination ultimately contributing to the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the health and safety of the population. Moreover, the project recognizes the specific training needs of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, who play a crucial role in vaccine delivery. While existing curricula may cover technical aspects of vaccination, there is a gap in addressing communication and social skills necessary to address vaccine hesitancy effectively. Therefore, the project aims to reach not only healthcare professionals directly involved in vaccine delivery but also those working with vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups, such as school nurses, community nurses, and sanitary mediators.