Vaccination in pregnancy (VIP) study

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Development work for an evaluation of a complex intervention to increase uptake of vaccinations in pregnancy among socio-economically and ethnically diverse populations

  • IRAS ID

    333314

  • Contact name

    Asma Khalil

  • Contact email

    akhalil@sgul.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 2 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Background
    Vaccinations against whooping cough/pertussis, flu and other infections like Covid-19 and RSV can protect pregnant women/people and their babies from disease or death. But many pregnant women miss out on these vaccinations, especially women living in more deprived parts of the country.

    To find out why vaccination rates are low we reviewed existing research. We also did two studies in socially and ethnically mixed areas of London and asked pregnant women/people and health providers for their recommendations.

    Our goal is to increase informed choice and uptake of recommended vaccinations during pregnancy to improve health. First, we will carry out development work in London and Liverpool.

    Proposed development work over 14 months
    We will interview 10-15 midwives. Then with pregnant women, midwives and others we will develop an improvement programme to increase vaccine uptake in pregnancy.
    This will focus on: service users, providers and services.
    • For service users
    We will develop brief videos, where ‘real’ people, including midwives and pregnant women/people and their families, share their personal stories about vaccinations in pregnancy.
    • For providers
    We will develop materials and training for midwives to increase their knowledge and confidence in maternal vaccines and help them advise pregnant women/people about vaccinations during pregnancy. To do this we will use evidence on how and why people change what they do to improve their health.
    • Services
    We will explore possible organisational and systemic changes to improve vaccination rates.

    We will then gain feedback about our programme from 20 women and 20 midwives and adapt if needed.

    Patient and public involvement:
    Pregnant women/people helped design the research. We will work with them at every step, from designing the programme and research to sharing the results.

    Expected impacts:
    If our programme is acceptable, we will apply for funding to see if it increases vaccination rates.

  • REC name

    London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    24/PR/1590

  • Date of REC Opinion

    28 Jan 2025

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion