# Worlds of Connections: Vaccine Hesitancy

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2021 · $54,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Worlds of Connections: Vaccine Hesitancy is motivated by the critical need to address public
hesitancy toward vaccination for COVID-19. Our team, led by SEPA PI and sociologist Julia
McQuillan, science educator Judy Diamond, and educator/medical sociologist Patricia Wonch Hill,
build on their NIH- and NSF-funded virology outreach work to establish research-based practice for
engaging the public with narrative comics designed to create positive attitudes toward vaccination
while generating new knowledge about effective methods for public science outreach during a
pandemic. Numerous factors—including family history, negative experience with medical institutions,
distrust of vaccines—can contribute to reservations about vaccinations. No matter the reason, many
people in the U.S. do not plan to take advantage of the opportunity to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
With our team of professional researchers, artists, and educators, we leverage learning research
approaches to develop short, engaging comics about the value of COVID-19 vaccines. The narratives
will be grounded in current science and designed to be relevant to audiences with specific cultural
and racial/ethnic identities. Mobilizing our partnerships with publishers, schools, libraries, museums,
and media, we will provide a diverse public audience with direct access to the comic narratives in
physical and digital forms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10392010
- **Project number:** 3R25GM129836-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIA MCQUILLAN
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $54,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10392010

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10392010, Worlds of Connections: Vaccine Hesitancy (3R25GM129836-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10392010. Licensed CC0.

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