Let’s Have a Yarn About the Whooping Cough Vaccine: Informing Industry Practice and National Maternal Vaccine Communication

Description of impact

Impact objective
To improve culturally appropriate communication about maternal vaccination among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women through evidence-informed, co-designed approaches that influence healthcare practice, public health messaging, and industry engagement.

About the program/project
The Let’s Have a Yarn About the Whooping Cough Vaccine project was a collaboration between the University of Canberra, NSW Aboriginal Health, and community partners. The research used a yarning methodology to explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s views, experiences, and preferences for maternal vaccination information. The findings emphasised the importance of culturally safe, conversational, and short-format communication tools, co-developed with women and communities.

Details of the impact so far
Findings from the project have directly influenced the design and implementation of new maternal vaccination communication strategies by Pfizer Australia and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). Pfizer’s medical affairs team sought and incorporated the project’s insights, particularly the preference for short, culturally resonant video formats (under 90 seconds), into new resources developed for maternal RSV (Abrysvo®) vaccine education.
NACCHO has been briefed on this evidence to guide their own approaches to culturally appropriate maternal vaccine communication. Pfizer acknowledged the research team for informing the development of these new materials and committed to sharing the final videos with UC researchers.

Other milestones along the impact pathway
Presentation of findings at the national Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference 2025 (Adelaide).

Dissemination of outcomes via the UC Research Portal and upcoming peer-reviewed publication.

Ongoing collaboration discussions with GSK and Pfizer and NACCHO to extend impact to RSV and influenza maternal vaccine messaging.

Reach and significance
The research has national reach through influence on Pfizer’s vaccine education programs and NACCHO’s community consultation processes. The work demonstrates tangible translation of University of Canberra research into improved health communication practices by major healthcare industry and Aboriginal health organisations.

Impact status	Early-stage
Impact date	1 Jun 2024 → 31 Oct 2025
Category of impact	Societal impacts, Cultural impacts
Impact level	Adoption or influence