Vaccine Awareness Conversation Guides
Supporting recovery with meaningful, health-focused conversations
Vaccine Awareness Conversation Guides Training Video
Rural Recovery Matters
Substance use disorder (SUD) can increase the risk of many adverse health outcomes. Chronic substance use can weaken the immune system, making contracting an infectious disease easier and further complicating recovery. Individuals with SUD may also be less likely to seek preventive care and rural communities are often faced with additional obstacles like needing to travel long distances or a lack of care options. Enhancing vaccine uptake is a crucial tool to help prevent the spread of disease but addressing vaccine hesitancy for those in recovery requires a tailored approach.
The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Rural Health Association (MRHA) have partnered to build a greater understanding of infectious disease prevention and vaccine awareness in those with SUD. Over 100 staff and clients at a rural SUD treatment center provided input into the creation of a resource we are calling Vaccine Awareness Conversation Guides.
These guides are meant to stimulate meaningful, informal conversations between staff and clients about adult vaccines and other health behaviors including vaccination access, barriers, and risk management of infectious diseases. Current topics covered in the Guides are: Vaccine Access, Understanding Risk, Vaccine Development, Vaccine Decisions, Supporting Recovery, Self Care Helps Others, and Self Care.
In 2024-2025, the partnership launched a pilot project to test how well the conversation guides work. The project took place in treatment centers across rural Minnesota, where staff at recovery centers used the guides in both group settings and one-on-one sessions with clients.
We are currently analyzing the results of the pilot project and incorporating the feedback we received from staff into updated versions of the conversation guides. Stay tuned for updates to the Conversation Guides and other resources.
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