MumBubHub: vaccine access for mothers and babies in Victoria

We’re working to improve vaccine uptake for mothers and babies in Victoria, Australia.

Maternal and childhood vaccination protects women, babies and young children from serious infectious diseases.

But vaccine uptake remains lower than it needs to be.

In Victoria, this is especially true for communities who face barriers to getting care. This could include families who:

face extra travel or appointment costs

live in rural or regional areas

find it hard to access comprehensive health information

Mothers and babies who do not get vaccinated have a higher chance of getting sick with flu, whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Our project aims to better understand why some families have challenges accessing or accepting recommended vaccines during pregnancy and early childhood and what would make it easier for them.

Based on this research, we’re co-designing an approach to improve vaccine uptake and protect more mothers and babies against disease.

We call this the MumBubHub immunisation project.

What we're doing

Our project involves:

stakeholder consultation to understand vaccination landscape in 2 Victorian local government areas
surveys and interviews with pregnant women and new parents to understand vaccine access and acceptance barriers
co-designing a solution to increase maternal and infant vaccination uptake.

Where we’re working

Two communities in Victoria with lower vaccination coverage – one in regional Victoria, and one in Melbourne.

Who we’re working with

Maternal and child health stakeholders
Community organisations
Pregnant women
New parents

How the research works

We’re using interviews, surveys and workshops to:

understand the different factors preventing mothers and babies from getting their vaccinations

identify practical solutions that improve access to vaccination

understand how to strengthen communication and support for families.

These research methods are helping us understand the experience of both communities and health providers.

We’ll discuss these findings with parents and health providers to co-design a practical strategy to support vaccine uptake. The strategy should be:

feasible (it can be done)

acceptable to people who receive and deliver vaccines

tailored to local needs.

Our findings will support future implementation and evaluation of strategies to improve maternal and childhood vaccination coverage and reduce health inequities.