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Toolkit

Boosting Public Discourse: Reframing Childhood Immunization

Find guidance and resources to advocate for expanding access to childhood and adolescent vaccination.

If you are a pediatrician or part of a health care team who speaks up on behalf of evidence-based vaccination policies, you’ve found your way to the right place.

Advocacy from pediatricians is vital. This toolkit offers a suite of resources to help your voice cut through the chaos. All draw from original, rigorous social science research on framing strategies that are effective for outreach, education, and advocacy communications about childhood immunizations.

These strategies can help you make strategic decisions about what you say about vaccine access and vaccine policy in settings like these:

  • Letters to the editor, op/eds, or other written commentaries
  • Testimony to legislative committees or other public bodies
  • Contributions in multidisciplinary policy working groups
  • Public talks to nonscientific audiences
  • Press releases or media advisories
  • Comments in print, television, or podcast interviews
  • Social media messaging

Table of Contents

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Quick Start Guide to Reframing Childhood Immunizations

Five framing strategies that can shift thinking about childhood immunizations.

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Talking Points

Need a short summary of points to make and ways to make them? This guide can get you started.

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Words to Watch

Use this short list of words to replace (and alternatives to embrace) to develop a vaccine vocabulary that inoculates against misunderstandings and distractions.

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“Collective Responsibility”

“As a society, we have a responsibility to the common good—which translates into a shared duty to ensure everyone has access to immunization services.”

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“Software Updates”

“Just like our digital devices perform better after we’ve updated the software, our immune systems work more effectively in response to vaccines.”

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“Beginner Text”

“When we immunize children, it’s a lot like helping them learn to read. Vaccines are beginner texts that our immune systems use to practice comprehending a disease.”

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Building a Strong Frame

When we skip over deeper explanation of how a problem comes to be, we miss opportunities to build lasting public understanding.

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Sample Letter to the Editor

Legislators always read the opinion pages in their local district press. A letter to the editor is a relatively easy and surprisingly powerful way to frame issues on your own terms.

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Social Media Messages

Use these customizable, shareable social media messages to amplify your advocacy for policies that increase vaccine access and uptake.

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Adjusting to Your Audience

Here are some special considerations for communications aimed at people who express skepticism about vaccines but may still be open to listening.

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Responding to Vaccine Deniers in Public

Different strategies and techniques are required for conversation with a vocal vaccine denier in front of a public audience.

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Related Resources

Learn more about FrameWorks research on vaccine communications in these resources.

About This Toolkit

This toolkit was designed and written by the FrameWorks Institute, a nonprofit that conducts social science research to understand and solve important communications challenges. FrameWorks’ research on childhood immunization communications was conducted in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

If you are communicating about immunization, you have permission to use the elements and ideas in this toolkit for your individual purposes. All other rights are reserved by the FrameWorks Institute, according to these Terms of Use.

Issues
Children & Family Families Health
Countries
United States
Partners
American Academy of Pediatrics