NHS West Yorkshire ICB
Behaviour-led communications in diverse communities
Improving vaccination uptake is rarely about information alone. It is about trust, behaviour, and the everyday realities people are living themselves.
Working with NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, we supported vaccination communications during a period of shifting public confidence and uneven uptake across diverse communities from Leeds to Bradford, and Halifax to Wakefield. The challenge was not a lack of messaging. It was ensuring that the messaging connected in different communities - but with limited budget.
Uptake varied significantly by geography and demographic group. Hesitancy was influenced by misinformation, cultural context, practical barriers and fatigue from previous campaigns.
The task was to move beyond broadcasting and instead apply behavioural insight to communications design.
We worked across clinical, public health and community teams to:
analyse local uptake data and identify priority audiences
understand behavioural barriers to vaccination
reshape campaign messaging to address real concerns, not assumed ones
simplify calls to action and reduce friction in access
link communications across GP practices, local authorities and partners
Rather than relying on volume, the approach focused on clarity, credibility and consistency. Messaging was adapted to community context and delivered through trusted local channels.
Care was taken to ensure that tone was respectful and measured. Communications needed to encourage action without amplifying fear or reinforcing misinformation.
IMPACT
clearer and more targeted campaign messaging
improved consistency across health system partners
better alignment between clinical advice and public communications
stronger engagement in communities where uptake had previously lagged
This work reflects North 53’s core approach: listen first, understand behaviour, shape the story carefully, then design communications that lead to practical action.
