The VIP-IDEAL study aims to understand the complex interplay between various factors influencing maternal vaccination uptake and inform the co-production of future health interventions, policy and practice.
The study includes the conduct of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with pregnant or recently pregnant women, as well as interviews with healthcare workers and other stakeholders in socially and ethnically diverse Boroughs in London.
We are currently looking for pregnant women or women who recently had a baby, as well as GPs, midwives, nurses and other stakeholders in South London who may be interested in participating in our study or getting involved in other ways.
Detailed participant information sheets are available on this website, as well as copies of informed consent forms, should you be interested in taking part.
The impartial and confidential interviews are conducted either in person or remotely via telephone or video call (e.g., via Zoom, Skype or WhatsApp).
Participants receive £20 as a thank you for taking part.
Short study title
Vaccination in pregnancy - ideas, experiences and attitudes, London (VIP-IDEAL)
Full study title
Maternal vaccination uptake in socially and ethnically diverse communities: a qualitative study among pregnant/post-partum women and service providers in London to inform the co-production of future health interventions
Study purpose
We would like to find out what types of vaccines women have been offered during pregnancy and what they think about these different vaccines, including vaccines against whooping cough, flu and Covid-19.
In some areas uptake of one or all of these vaccines has been low, and we would like to find out what the reasons are and if people have any suggestions on things that could be improved in the future, such as the way these vaccines are offered to pregnant women. We particularly want to make sure that we get the views of people from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds to ensure that the experiences and concerns of a wide range of people living in South London are understood and considered in the future.
The information from this study could help us and other researchers to think of ways to develop or improve health interventions and programmes together with different service providers and members of the public. The research may also influence future decisions regarding new vaccines that are currently being developed.
Research activities
Current research activities include impartial and confidential semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions conducted in person or remotely (via phone or video call) among the following three participant groups:
1) Pregnant (2nd or 3rd trimester) or recently pregnant women living or receiving healthcare in socially and ethnically diverse areas in South London
- Interviews (lasting about 45-60 minutes)
- Group discussions (lasting about 45-90 minutes)
2) Healthcare professionals (incl. GPs, nurses, midwives) working in South London
- Interviews (lasting about 20-40 minutes)
3) Other relevant stakeholders (incl. health managers, NGO staff and local community leaders) in South London
- Interviews (lasting about 20-40 minutes)
- (Informal discussions)
Participants receive £20 as a thank you for taking part.
For more information and details, please see the participant information sheets in the ‘Get involved’ section.
Funding and approvals
The study is funded by the Wellcome Trust (a charitable foundation with focus on health research) through an LSHTM Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) Pump Priming Grant (Wellcome ISSF Pump Priming Grant reference: 204928/Z/16/Z).
We have obtained approval for the study from the NHS Health Research Authority, the London - South East NHS Research Ethics Committee and the LSHTM Research Ethics Committee.
The VIP-IDEAL study team includes researchers from the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health and the Faculty of Public Health and Policy. We also receive support from the NIHR Clinical Research Network South London.

Sima
Berendes
Research Fellow

Caroline
Free
Professor
Sandra
Mounier-Jack
Associate Professor

Oyinkansola
Ojo-Aromokudu
Research Degree Student
Please get in touch if you meet the inclusion criteria for any of the three participant groups below and/or wish to get involved in other ways.
Group 1 (pregnant/recently pregnant women)
We are looking for women who:
- are pregnant (2nd or 3rd trimester) or have recently given birth to a baby (after April 2021) AND
- live and/or receive healthcare in socially and ethnically diverse communities in South London AND
- are aged ≥ 16 years
For more information and if you are interested in taking part, please see:
- Participant Information Sheet (Group 1)
- Informed Consent Form for interviews (Group 1)
- Informed Consent Form for focus group discussions (Group 1)
Group 2 (healthcare providers)
We are looking for:
- Healthcare providers, including GPs, nurses and midwives who regularly provide services to pregnant or post-partum women from/in socially and ethnically diverse communities in South London.
For more information and if you are interested in taking part, please see:
- Participant Information Sheet (Group 2 and 3)
- Informed Consent Form (Group 2 and 3)
Group 3 (other stakeholders)
We are looking for:
- Other relevant local stakeholders, including health managers, NGO staff and local community leaders who may have an influence on the current or future uptake of maternal vaccinations in South London
For more information and if you are interested in taking part, please see:
- Participant Information Sheet (Group 2 and 3)
- Informed Consent Form (Group 2 and 3)
A lay summary of the results and the link to an open-access publication will become available here after results have been published in a scientific journal.