Ontario Science Centre Vaccine Awareness Project, Evaluation Final Report

The Ontario Science Centre applied for and received a grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) under the Immunization Partnership Fund (IPF). The intention of the IPF is to improve vaccination coverage by supporting provinces, territories (PTs) and stakeholders to develop new or adapt/ scale up existing interventions aimed at increasing vaccine confidence, uptake and access to COVID-19 vaccines, as well as to vaccines in general.

The target audience for the project was Ontario Science Centre’s core audience of families with children under 18 years. Secondary audiences were educators and community leaders. The project aimed to engage the core audience of families with children through clear science communication and interaction that increases understanding and awareness of how vaccines work and how they are a crucial tool in preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Educators and community leaders were also identified as important allies in the development, distribution and promotion of evidence-based science communication and fostering of family science capital. The lead evaluation consultant was Barbara J. Soren, PhD who has been working in audience research and evaluation since she completed her dissertation in the 1980s. Dr. Soren was assisted by one of her former students, Aline Zara, who is a PhD Student at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information.

The evaluation was primarily to:
• Assess whether content developed for exhibits and animations with videos in multiple locations throughout the Ontario Science Centre supports understanding of vaccines and vaccination.
• Examine the effectiveness of unique digital content both onsite and online.