1620P COVID-19 vaccines and cancer: Tailored information for Australia’s diverse populations

Background: As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout commenced in Australia in early 2021, limited evidence was available internationally about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines for people with cancer, particularly because cancer patients were largely excluded from the initial clinical trials. As such, people with cancer had many questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. Australia’s Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations experience poorer cancer outcomes and have specific information needs. As the national cancer control agency, Cancer Australia has a leadership role in providing information to support optimal outcomes for people with cancer, including Australia’s Indigenous and CALD populations. Methods: To understand and address the information needs about COVID-19 vaccines for people with cancer, Cancer Australia undertook a scoping review of national and international published literature and guidance, and sought input from key cancer control experts and consumers. In collaboration with Indigenous health and multicultural communications experts, Cancer Australia developed tailored information for Indigenous Australians and CALD populations affected by cancer. Results: Cancer Australia developed a range of information resources relating to the COVID-19 vaccines and cancer, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and multimedia promotional collateral including animation and radio advertisements. The FAQs were adapted to provide culturally appropriate messaging for Indigenous Australians with cancer and translated into the ten most spoken languages in Australia. Multi-channel social media communication promoted uptake of the resources to CALD and Indigenous communities, and between March and May 2021, the social media campaign received over 800,000 impressions and the FAQs approximately 20,000 page views. Conclusions: Throughout the pandemic, Cancer Australia has been responsive to the unique needs of the Australian cancer community. The development and dissemination of tailored information about COVID-19 vaccines for Indigenous and CALD populations is one example of how Cancer Australia aims to improve outcomes for all people with cancer in Australia. Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.