Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
17 March 2023 | NewsNew resources to support conversations about influenza vaccination with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleRead the full article
SKAI - Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation is a suite of vaccination communication support tools. SKAI is designed to facilitate conversations about childhood immunisation between parents and healthcare providers. The package includes an accessible information website for parents, a provider website, and an eLearning module (temporarily unavailable until early 2023) for healthcare professionals.
We set out to develop a package of communication strategies and information resources to support better conversations about childhood vaccination. We assembled an interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians to design and evaluate what became SKAI. We worked with parents, communicators, nurses, doctors, an engineer, website designers, educators and other researchers to ensure SKAI has something for everyone.
We support vaccination because we believe it is beneficial for children and their communities. We respect parents and acknowledge their need for accurate information to inform the health decisions they make for their children. We also want to see parents and professionals have more satisfying conversations about vaccination.
We know that some parents worry they will be viewed as ignorant, gullible or irresponsible if they ask healthcare providers questions about vaccination. It is our hope that SKAI will give primary healthcare providers the confidence to invite parents to share their questions and concerns during vaccination consultations and reassure them that vaccines are the safest way to protect their children from some infectious diseases.
The SKAI for Parents website provides access to information about immunisation that can be trusted. The website answers common questions parents have about vaccination, equipping them with the information they need to make decisions for their family.
SKAI resources for healthcare professionals are designed to help them adapt their clinical communication skills to meet the needs of all parents, whether they are ready to vaccinate, have questions or intend to decline vaccination altogether. These resources have been developed to help healthcare workers continue to improve the quality and safety of the care they provide to their community.
Healthcare professionals can access the SKAI resources via the SKAI providers website.
Besides an extensive development group, a team at NCIRS conducts regular updates of the SKAI package. An international advisory group also provides advice on the scientific direction and governance of SKAI.
Also refer to SKAI - supporting communities and SKAI - supporting health professionals
