So, there’s been a lot of talk about measles outbreaks happening in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Well, in Iowa, a cool partnership is stepping up to the plate to spread the word about vaccinations to refugee and immigrant communities. They wanna make sure everyone’s on the same page and connected with doctors, ya know?
This partnership, called Refugee and Immigrant Voices in Action, or RIVA for short, is teaming up with small businesses and local healthcare providers to tackle any misinformation floating around about measles. Christina Fernandez-Morrow, the brains behind RIVA, says they picked up some nifty communication skills during the COVID pandemic that are comin’ in handy now.
According to Fernandez-Morrow, the main goal is to build a solid relationship between the communities and healthcare providers. They wanna make sure everyone trusts the folks takin’ care of ’em. On top of that, she mentions that providers are brushing up on how to recognize symptoms and makin’ sure people know what to watch out for. Gotta combat any medical biases that might be lurkin’ around, ya know?
“What does measles look like, especially on different types of skin?” she wonders. “So, if you’ve got darker skin, been out in the sun, workin’ in the fields, or cooped up inside all winter, it might appear a bit different on you.”
RIVA is also gettin’ translators in on the action to reach out to Iowa communities where English isn’t the main language, all in an effort to promote healthy habits. Sounds like they’re really goin’ above and beyond to spread the word and keep everyone safe.
(By Lucia Cheng, Iowa Public Radio)
