The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) formed a close partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDOE) to produce educational materials on H1N1 for K-12 school professionals, teachers, students, and parents. DHHR and DOE also provided outreach and held several community activities designed to promote discussion and collaboration among schools, parents, and health planners.
Several activities in spring 2009 laid the groundwork for a strong collaboration between the health department and the department of education as autumn brought climbing rates of novel H1N1 infection. In May 2009, WVDHHR and WVDOE collaborated on a guidance for keeping children safe during out-of-state field trips. In August 2009, local health departments held a conference call with school superintendents to review CDC guidance and establish a communications link between schools and local public health in each West Virginia community. This conference call laid the foundation for school-related H1N1 response decisions to be made collaboratively at the local level.
WVDHHR and WVDOE also developed a corresponding state-specific guidance for school-based vaccination [School-Located 2009 H1N1 Vaccination (SLV): Information for Planners] that was built for use in conjunction with simultaneously developing information from CDC. When the guidance was initially released, WVDHHR and WVDOE held statewide conference calls with local health departments and school superintendents to address issues and questions about implementing school-based vaccination programs.
After school began in Fall 2009, WVDHHR and WVDOE continued their collaborative work by developing a packet of materials about H1N1. The packet contains a variety of resources on H1N1 and vaccination that are intended to appeal to school professionals, parents, and students. The packet includes a "backpack letter" on H1N1 from the state health officer to parents, which the Governor asked that all schools send home with children. Other resources included an H1N1 Fact Sheet, an interactive video for parents and school personnel featuring answers to commonly asked questions about H1N1 and vaccine, a document for school personnel that provides answers to questions frequently asked by parents, and a two-minute video featuring an address from the state health officer to students and school personnel. In her address, the state health officer emphasizes that vaccination is an individual family choice to be made based on good information (with links to information resources provided). She also discusses her dual roles as health officer and mother and describes her own family's decision to have their children vaccinated.
Leadership from the state government also ensured that the educational packet was well received by school administration, teachers, and parents. The state governor visited several schools to speak about the importance of being well informed about vaccination. The backpack letter and fact sheet were also distributed at these school speaking events. The governor also asked each school superintendent to ensure that the H1N1 fact sheet was sent home with each student. He later spoke at a press conference, telling parents that they should expect to see the fact sheet in the materials their children bring home from school. Throughout his efforts, he encouraged parents to "Get the Facts" and referred them to the state's H1N1 website.
An array of collaborations with state government, local public health, the department of education, and area school districts gave public health planners the opportunity to promote H1N1 vaccination, while providing materials that enabled parents to make well-informed decisions about vaccination for their children.
