Archives: Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption of routine childhood vaccination programs across Canada and globally. These disruptions caused critical drops in vaccine coverage rates, causing concern about possible resurgences of vaccine preventable diseases, and leaving vaccination programs with the added challenge of identifying and vaccinating those who missed recommended doses.  The purpose of this project…

The purpose of this project is to enhance the overall foundation of public health evidence pertaining to vaccines in Alberta, and increase capacity of Alberta policy-makers to make evidence-based decisions regarding immunization policy and programs to reduce the burden of vaccine preventable disease. This project focuses on:

Addressing vaccine hesitancy is complex and context-specific, and it involves tailored strategies that are evidence-informed. Simply giving people more information about vaccine risks/benefits is often unsuccessful because “knowledge deficit” approaches do not account for the myriad ways that knowledge is mediated in our social world. In this project, we hope to understand how web and…

Influenza is the leading vaccine-preventable infection that affects Canadian of all ages yearly. While it is known that females typically exhibit a stronger immune response following vaccination, there has been limited investigation of how this affects vaccine efficacy (reduction in disease incidence under optimal conditions), effectiveness (reduction in disease incidence in the “real world”), and…

Infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) can result in serious illness and hospitalization for infants and older adults, creating a high health and financial burden in Canada. We developed a dynamic transmission model for RSV that is specific to Canadian data, along with an economic component to model disease outcomes alongside disease and intervention costs.…

The Nishtoohtamihk la michinn avik aen nijhwii project aims to better understand vaccine coverage in Métis children in Alberta. Our team, in partnership with the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA), will quantify vaccine coverage among Métis children in Alberta and examine determinants of vaccine coverage. Applying an Indigenous intersectional theoretical framework, we will assess attitudes…

After acute COVID-19 infection, long-term physical and psychological effects may persist in some patients. These ongoing symptoms can adversely affect day-to-day living and may require ongoing support. This research project is examining the long-term health-related quality of life for individuals with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses, as compared to those who were not infected with COVID-19. The…

This project supported Alberta policy-makers in making evidence-based decisions regarding immunization policy and programs to reduce the burden of vaccine preventable disease. This multi-component project included subprojects focused on the following priorities:

The First Nations Childhood Immunization Project (FINCH) is a partnership project between the Aimm research team, Maskwacis Health Services, and the Alberta Ministry of Health. We seek to understand the uniqueness of the immunization experience for members of a First Nations community, as well as how historical and cultural factors may act as barriers or…

The Childhood Immunization Reminder Project (ChIRP) was a pilot intervention to assist healthcare providers improve immunization uptake. The study was conducted in two public health centres in Alberta to test the effectiveness of text message reminders to improve vaccine uptake. Specifically, we worked with immunization providers and program administrators to examine whether sending reminder texts…