Dr. Marina DelRios, MD

Science Communication Training

for Vaccine Hesitancy

Dime La VerDAD is an innovative social media capacity-building program that empowers promotores de salud to debunk vaccine misinformation through the use of personal narratives on social media. The core of the implementation strategy consists of augmenting training and self-efficacy for natural community champions, "promotores de salud" from the Hispanic community as trusted messengers to debunk vaccination misinformation. The study will leverage existing community relationships in Chicago and a first of its kind misinformation curriculum to debunk misinformation in communities served by participating promotores de salud. Dime La VerDAD (Verify, Debunk, and Disseminate) is an innovative social media capacity-building program based on theoretical frameworks related to health communication that empowers promotores de salud to debunk vaccine misinformation through the use of personal narratives on social media. This mixed methods study will use a rigorous stepped wedge design to 1) deliver a scalable program of science communicators using an adapted curriculum grounded in infodemiology, 2) evaluate how debunking misinformation is perceived on social media, and 3) discern how use of personal narratives to enhance science communication can lead to changes in opinions and behavior (vaccination rates) about COVID and influenza vaccines among Chicago's predominantly Hispanic communities.