Teen Vaccine Confidence Rapid Community Assessment (RCA) , San Mateo California

I was contracted by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to remotely manage the adolescent component of the CDC's first-ever Teen Vaccine Confidence Rapid Community Assessment (RCA), run in San Mateo County, California. This RCA gauged how teens, their parents and the larger community felt about the ongoing national rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for teens.

In a pioneering move, this RCA involved a participatory research component, involving teens from the Boys and Girls Club as co-investigators with the CDC. My responsibilities included:

1. Designing and leading a month-long remote training for teens focused on conducting behavioural research (interviews, group discussions, surveys) and analysing online interactions on platforms where young people socialise (e.g. TikTok, Instagram.)


2. Supervising teens while they conducted fieldwork on teen vaccine confidence, coded data, developed findings and delivered policy recommendations.

3. Working with teens to create a video presentation on their findings and recommendations to deliver to county and national health agencies.

4. Drafting a report for CDC detailing the adolescent's findings, as well as detailing the training process, with focus on participatory action research protocols.