During Winter (November 2025 to March 2026) we delivered a community led winter wellness project in Haringey and Enfield that targeted adults aged 18-65 living with one more long term condition (diabetes/heart/respiratory/kidney disease) focusing on the Black Afro-Caribbean, Somali, Turkish/Cypriot, Eastern European and Latin American communities. 

We partnered with Community Organisations

Sewn Together

(Black African & Afro Caribbean Community)

Turkish Cypriot Women's Project

Project Aims

  • Understand the barriers that exist around taking up the flu vaccine and MMR
  • To increase uptake of health checks
  • To disseminate information and support 

What we did?

  • We co-designed a survey with our partners to inform the delivery of the project. This was disseminated in both English and Turkish and also was shared both digitally and in physical copies with 291 people filling in the survey
  • We delivered 19 workshops around flu vaccines, health checks and addressing barriers to vaccine take up participants, 24 outreach sessions reaching 939 residents. 
  • We worked with the ICB and our partners, distributing 2000 leaflets in Spanish, Turkish, English and Somalian. 
  • Partnered with Lee Valley school to deliver xxx number of sessions reaching xxx number of parentes 

Engagement

  •  Community centres: coffee mornings, health talks, drop-ins, workshops •
  • Schools and nurseries: coffee mornings, ESOL sessions, playgroups
  • Family hubs and children’s centres: play and mothers groups, support sessions
  • Community events: 
  • Health community groups: Pensioner Forum, Over 50s group
  • Public spaces: libraries, cafés, markets, gardens
  • GP surgeries and hospital: outreach, clinic visits, maternity liaison
  • We engaged with a diverse group of residents and reached a high proportion of those of parental age. 

Digital Engagement

1937 messages shared through

  • WhatsApp community groups
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Community radio

“I initially approached vaccination as a public health responsibility, focusing on delivering accurate information. Through engagement with my community and the robust evidence from trusted Somali professionals as well as direct observation of uptake improvements, this reinforced my own confidence in vaccines as being safe and essential.”

Somali Community Champion

Reasons for Vaccine Hesitancy: 

Turkish Community

  1.  Side effects and ingredients
  2. Number of vaccines given at once 
  3. I wasn’t vaccinated as a child, therefore I see no need 

Polish Community 

  1. Side effects and ingredients. 
  2. All vaccines in general.
  3. Number of vaccines given at once 

Black Community

  1. Concerned about all vaccines in general 
  2. Find it difficult to arrange childcare 
  3. My child isn’t at risk of the disease 

Across all communities, the top 3 reasons given:

Side effects/ and or ingredients

 Number of vaccines given

No risk of the disease/ they’re not around anymore 

Other reasons given:     Age at Immigration experiences- differences in ability to remember experiences of illness in home country • Perceived physical defects from MMR vaccine- scarring • Cultural and linguistic gaps can delay vaccine uptake • Lack of trust in NHS services • Health literacy and navigation skills • Unfamiliarity with clinical roles • Immigration and system differences • Lack of education and MMR awareness

Best Practice for Successful Engagement

Autism and Vaccine Hesitancy

  • Autism related concerns are widespread, even among pro-vaccine families •
  • Lack of autism understanding fuels misinformation •
  • Trust grows through familiar and representative messaging
  • Education on autism helps increase vaccine confidence •
  • Confidence built through community representative clinical leads on conversation
  • Concerns causing the delaying of vaccination until they have passed developmental milestones of walking and talking.

Kindly Funded by: