Sharing of best practices from an emergency medical team deployment in Papua New Guinea: Piloting a community engagement workshop targeting COVID-19 vaccine uptake

Abstract Objectives COVID-19 tremendously affected Papua New Guinea in late 2021, which accompanied by a low vaccination rate (< 4%), lead to an International Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Request for Assistance. The study's aim was to assess the knowledge, skills and attitude of health-care workers (HCWs) before and after a workshop conducted by the UK EMT in developing best practices related to Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) integration within a COVID-19 emergency response. Methods A participatory workshop was piloted in Western Highland Province among 71 HCWs. Training of trainers’ approach was adopted to build the capacity of health workers in advocating for vaccines uptake. A perception survey was used at the baseline and at the end of the workshop to assess the knowledge, skills, and attitude of the participants towards COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Results The healthcare professionals were not well equipped with accurate, scientific, and up-to-date information related to COVID-19 vaccines, which led to concern and fear among them. HCWs reported being a source of information for community members about COVID-19 vaccines. The paired t-test showed a significant increase in the knowledge, skills, and attitude of the participants toward COVID-19 vaccines after the workshop. Participants described being ready to engage community influencers and cascade training to further reach out to community groups Discussion Integrating RCCE within EMT deployments plays a crucial role in leveraging healthcare capabilities to influence community members and advocate for COVID-19 vaccines uptake; which will ultimately decrease morbidity and mortality.