Our Work

The 6As Closing Immunisation Gaps Methodology

We are currently working in the Middle East and Central America with NIP managers, their colleagues in health promotion and communications and cross-sectorial partners to help them increase immunization rates in influenza and COVID-19 vaccination programs.

Irimi has developed a methodology grounded in the 6As taxonomy for the determinants of vaccine uptake (Thomson et al – we added an ‘A’ since the first study!), which enables identification of key barriers and triangulation with proven facilitators of uptake.

We facilitate workshops with people of diverse experience and expertise which:

• Unpack the barriers to optimal vaccination coverage rates (VCR) using the 6As taxonomy
• Develop a common understanding of the problem
• Triangulate barriers with policy, programmatic and practice facilitators of VCR using the 6As Matrix
• Develop or refine National Vaccine Deployment Strategies
• Implement and track impactful interventions

A meta-objective is to leverage the common understanding of the problem to engage all participants and give them joint ownership of the national strategy.

Effective strategies for raising immunization rates must be multicomponent and multistakeholder.

Vaccinating against vaccine misinformation

We drew on current evidence and emerging technologies to co-develop a novel digital health communication intervention, and convene a broad public-private partnership to take it to scale.

Cranky Uncle: Vaccine is an innovative, mobile game that draws on active inoculation theory, cartoons and critical thinking to counter the effects of misinformation.

In collaboration with Cranky Uncle creators Dr. John and Wendy Cook, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and UNICEF, Irimi is leading global program adaptation and expansion:

• Co-design: We work directly with local communities to tailor the game script and characters for context through on-ground co-design activities.
• Test: We partner with local academic institutions to pilot test and evaluate the intervention for safety and effectiveness.
• Scale: We partner with national government and nonprofit institutions leading immunization and health communication efforts to promote and scale Cranky Uncle: Vaccine within existing national programs.
• Measure: We track impact through real-time monitoring tools and training.

Cranky Uncle: Vaccine is coming to East and West African, and South Asian markets in 2023.

Developing and rapid A/B testing context-driven vaccine promotion messages

We convened a high-profile, cross-sectorial partnership – engaging academia, a UN agency and the private and non profit sectors – to A/B test vaccine messages on a global scale. This collaboration has rapid A/B tested dozens of different messages in more than 100 million people on a social media platform. Each asset was developed based on insights from:

• local social listening (to surface questions, concerns information needs and misinformation; identify key influencers),
• Studies to identify the socio-psychological drivers of vaccination,
• digital identity analyses (locally appropriate images, colours, semiotics, typology)

Assets/messages which emerged as the most effective (attracted attention, nudged intentions to vaccinate) were deployed in targeted communications campaigns, and in 3 countries were tested in large randomized studies with immunization rates as outcome measure.