Colombian vaccination course linked to higher post-intervention knowledge scores

VACtívate is a psychoeducational course developed to support informed vaccination decisions and vaccine confidence. It was delivered in person across 20 cities in Colombia to 716 health personnel, community leaders, health authorities and social communicators. The 12-hour course covered vaccine education, vaccination decision-making, influential agents and the development of public health proposals. Participants completed questionnaires before and after the intervention; open-ended responses were also collected and analysed.

Global learning scores increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention (Wilcoxon signed-rank test: W = 2,099; Z = −6.31; p < 0.001; rank-biserial correlation = 0.60). Participants described personal, family, emotional, work-related and social factors as influencing vaccination decisions. They also emphasized community leadership, cross-sector collaboration and co-creating strategies to address disinformation and build vaccine confidence.

The findings suggest that a locally adapted educational course can be associated with improved short-term knowledge scores among participating groups. However, the pre–post evaluation does not show that VACtívate alone caused the improvement, and the source reports no comparison group or evidence of effects on vaccination uptake. The results therefore do not establish whether the intervention changes vaccination behavior or whether gains persist over time.