Abstract
“When you have more information, you feel safer”: lessons from intervention projects for migrants’ access to information on vaccinations in Poland and Norway
Department of Sociology of Sport and Health, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdansk, Poland
Pandemic Centre, Department for Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway
Department of Sociology of Medicine and Medical Communication, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
Department of Applied Polish Studies, Institute of Polish Philology, Faculty of Philology, University of Gdansk, Poland
Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
J Health Inequal 2026; 12 (1): 67–73
Introduction
Migrants face challenges in accessing vaccinations and healthcare services. Various strategies have been implemented worldwide to address these inequalities and the associated information barriers. This publication presents the results of an evaluation of two intervention projects carried out in Poland and Norway during the pandemic. These interventions aimed to increase migrants’ knowledge of available vaccines and promote their empowerment. Health Ambassadors (HAs) in Norway and Migrant Ambassadors (MAs) in Poland played a pivotal role in these projects, serving as liaisons between healthcare systems and migrant communities.
Material and methods
Both projects were evaluated at completion. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with HAs and seven with MAs. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data.
Results
Four main themes were identified: experiences related to being an ambassador; aspects of the interventions that worked well; aspects of the interventions requiring improvement; and the need for reliable information. Being an ambassador was associated with a desire to help other migrants and with empowerment. The participants considered receiving information through both interventions to be effective. However, language was a barrier to understanding the content, and they still felt hesitant to ask questions. Information received directly from health professionals was considered more reliable than that from other sources.
Conclusions
The interventions highlight the need to provide migrants with reliable health information and to implement strategies to mitigate misinformation within migrant communities.
Keywords
migrants, vaccination, health communication, health ambassadors, qualitative study
Integrated with
