Final Conference

Understanding vaccine hesitancy in Europe

6–7 February 2024 in Tampere, Finland and online

Vaccine hesitancy is not a novel phenomenon as it has existed since the invention of vaccines; however, it has notably increased in recent years and its role has further been accentuated by the Covid pandemic. To

promote the understanding vaccine hesitancy as a broad societal phenomenon
support healthcare professionals and patients through difficult conversations when there are concerns about vaccines, and to
share the results, best practices and recommendations of 7-country VAX-TRUST research,

we organised an international conference on 6–7 February 2024 in Tampere, Finland and online. The conference, including expert keynote presentations, panel discussions and engaging interactive sessions brought together experts, academics, policymakers, healthcare professionals and advocacy groups interested in vaccine hesitancy.

The conference was held in hybrid format, with Consortium Members attending in person in Tampere, Finland, while others were invited to take part virtually. The participation at the event was open for all and free of charge, but registration was compulsory.

The conference themes included:

Vaccine hesitancy in Europe
Encountering vaccine hesitancy
Healthcare professionals & vaccine hesitancy
Media & vaccine hesitancy
Education of health professionals on vaccine hesitancy
Health policy implications & recommendations.

Conference Program (PDF)

Conference Presentations

Welcoming words (pdf)
Pia Vuolanto, Tampere University, Finland, Principal Investigator of VAX-TRUST

Insights into contextual factors affecting vaccine hesitancy among Europeans (pdf)
Katrijn Delaruelle, Ghent University, Belgium

Blind spots in the media discourse on vaccines – The lessons for science and practitioners (pdf)
Alexandra Wagner and Tadeusz Rudek, Jagiellonian University, Poland

Vaccine hesitancy: research design and methods in focus (pdf)
Mario Cardano, Luigi Gariglio, and Alice Scavarda, University of Turin, Italy

The role of (mis)recognition in HCPs and parents’ interactions: exploring vaccine hesitancy using the concept of trajectories (pdf)
Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková and Dino Numerato, Charles University, Czech Republic

Developing an Online Resource to Help UK Healthcare Workers Explore Childhood Vaccine Hesitancy (pdf)
Tristan Emerson, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

Enhancing awareness of the complexity of vaccine hesitancy in Flanders – Developing a Reusable Learning Object for healthcare professionals (pdf)
Esther Lermytte, Ghent University, Belgium

(Dis)trust in vaccination: Intervention designed in the Czech Republic (pdf)
Zuzana Kotherová, Charles University, Czech Republic

Interventions in Poland (pdf)
Paulina Polak and Tadeusz Rudek, Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University

The Vaccination Challenge: triggering healthcare professionals’ reflexivity on vaccine hesitancy in Italy (pdf)
Mario Cardano, Luigi Gariglio, and Alice Scavarda, University of Turin, Italy

Increasing awareness of the complexity of vaccine hesitancy among healthcare professionals – Finnish case study (pdf)
Aapo Kuusipalo, Tampere University, Finland

Implementation of a family centredmodel of vaccination in Portugal (pdf)
Ana Patrícia Hilário and Fábio Rafael Augusto, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Evaluation of the vaccine hesitancy interventions for healthcare professionals – WP6 (pdf)
Tiago Correia, Cátia Sá Guerreiro, André Beja, and Rita Morais

Recommendations to address vaccine hesitancy at the European and country level (pdf)
Ana Patrícia Hilário and Fábio Rafael Augusto, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Being part of VAX TRUST: Risk, trust and reflexivity in the doing of international collaborative research on vaccine hesitancy (pdf)
Pru Hobson-West, University of Nottingham, UK

Vaccine hesitancy: conclusions based on VAX-TRUST project (pdf)
Pia Vuolanto, Tampere University, Finland, Principal Investigator of VAX-TRUST

Organising Committee

Chair: Pia Vuolanto, Tampere University (TAU)
Piet Bracke, Ghent University (UGent)
Paulina Polak, Jagiellonian University (UJ)
Mario Cardano, University of Turin (UNITO)
Ana Patrícia Hilário, The Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa (ICS-ULisboa)

Dino Numerato, Charles University (CUNI)
Elisabetta De Vito, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (UNICLAM)
Tiago Correia, NOVA University Lisbon (UNL)
Pru Hobson-West, University of Nottingham (UNOTT)
Annariina Koivu, Tampere University (TAU)