National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Bowie, M, Brown, V, and Sheyette, A.
The COVID-19 pandemic taught many important lessons. For Extension, the implications were
multifaceted and altered how many of our programs operate. The importance of gathering
community input and direction while being nimble enough to pivot program delivery to
primarily virtual platforms was paramount. Specifically, having the capacity to effectively
address societal problems in a rapidly evolving situation emerged as a key ingredient for
organizations to remain relevant, useful, and responsive. Being asked to provide vaccine
education for difficult-to-reach audiences affirmed Extension’s reputation as a trusted source of
reliable, science-based information. Extension faculty received real-time data and scientific
information to help inform their knowledge and build awareness around vaccine development,
safety, and availability. 96 projects and 73 institutions took on the project goals to “decrease
vaccine hesitancy among rural and medically underserved audiences” and “increase knowledge
and acceptability of COVID-19, and other adult immunizations among priority populations”
(EXCITE Annual Report, 2023).

Proposed Session's 3 learning objectives:
After viewing this presentation, attendees will:
a) explain how the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in drastic modifications in program delivery
b) discuss the implications of future pandemics on how public education providers operate
c) describe the importance of being able to identify and recommend reliable and trustworthy
sources of information for personal health decisions.