# ADEPT - An adaptive prenatal intervention to increase childhood vaccinations

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $499,981

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
In the United States (US), parents’ decision to delay or refuse vaccines for their children has resulted in
pockets of under-vaccination as well as recurring outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. To increase
childhood vaccinations and stem recurring outbreaks, we need effective interventions that build parents’
confidence in vaccines and reduce their vaccine hesitancy. The first recommended routine vaccination for
children is due at birth. Yet, many parents lack timely or evidence-based information on childhood vaccinations
prior to their child’s birth. Hence, we propose to evaluate ADEPT - an adaptive intervention that is implemented
in prenatal care settings to proactively connect parents with evidence-based childhood vaccination information
before their child’s birth. The core component of ADEPT includes prenatal provider trainings and a
recommendation to pregnant women in their early third trimester (28-32 weeks) encouraging childhood
vaccinations after the child is born. Those pregnant women who remain vaccine-hesitant despite the provider
recommendation will receive adaptive intervention components, which include evidence-based educational
materials on childhood vaccinations and phone consultations with a vaccine navigator to discuss any residual
concerns. Within the framework of a type 1 effectiveness-implementation hybrid study design, we will use a
cluster-randomized trial to determine the effectiveness of ADEPT compared to standard of care and a nested
explanatory sequential mixed methods study to identify implementation outcomes such as intervention
acceptability, feasibility, and fidelity. The proposed study will target pregnant women who are expecting their
first child, since research suggests that many of them rely on vaccination information from the internet or other
non-healthcare sources, making them susceptible to misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. In the proposed
study, ADEPT will be implemented and evaluated in diverse prenatal care practices in North Carolina. In
partnership with an external stakeholder advisory team, we will develop a blueprint for future implementation
and evaluation of ADEPT in diverse prenatal care settings across the US. Our proposal is innovative as it
creates a new paradigm for childhood vaccination education during prenatal care, and implements a novel
adaptive intervention (ADEPT) that is tailored to the hesitancy status and concerns of pregnant women. We
hypothesize that implementation of ADEPT in prenatal care settings will proactively reduce vaccine hesitancy
among pregnant women who are expecting their first child, and increase timely vaccinations for their child post-
birth. Our proposal is significant because it aligns with CDC’s Vaccinate with Confidence priorities for
empowering families and stopping vaccine myths. Our proposal also supports the Healthy People 2030 goals
to reduce the proportion of un- or under-immunized children in the US. The successful completion of propos...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10338640
- **Project number:** 1U01IP001149-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lavanya Vasudevan
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $499,981
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10338640

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10338640, ADEPT - An adaptive prenatal intervention to increase childhood vaccinations (1U01IP001149-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10338640. Licensed CC0.

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