Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI)

COSSI's purpose is to facilitate communication and collaboration between those working in the social science of immunisation, share research and findings, and build capacity. Anyone with an interest in social science and immunisation can join COSSI for free. Members include: health professionals who deliver and communicate about immunisation regularly; people who work in public health policy or government; academic researchers, lecturers, or students; advocates; and others.

Members communicate with each other via the COSSI email list or at in-person or online COSSI gatherings and/or endeavours, such as:

• In-person events:
  • COSSI holds in-person events annually in conjunction with the Public Health Association of Australia's Communicable Disease and Immunisation Conference. These events include presentations and discussions about key topics, such as engaging Aboriginal communities or other consumers in research or collecting and using social science data by government. The first large-scale, standalone COSSI event was a training workshop on improving vaccine confidence, demand, and uptake, held in 2019 in Sydney. Delivered in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and the University of Erfurt, it provided training and guidance on tailoring immunisation programmes, fostering vaccine communication (both externally facing communication with the media and internally between providers and parents/patients), and using behaviour change theories to address under-vaccination in immunisation programmes and research. This four-day workshop was attended by COSSI members from Australia and Asia-Pacific region.
  • COSSI conducts career mentorship and capacity-strengthening activities, such as interactive tabletop presentations on motivational interviewing techniques and working with the media. In 2023, junior COSSI members established a student and early career network to provide support and networking opportunities. It runs events specific to this subset of the membership and maintains a Facebook page to foster communication and community.
• Virtual events:
  • As an example of a periodic event, in 2022, COSSI co-convened a behavioural insights forum aimed at increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake in children aged 5-11 years in Australia, when low coverage was a pressing challenge for government and providers. This forum offered the opportunity to develop a new model to address immunisation coverage gaps by bringing together government, providers, and researchers to collaborate and seek solutions.
  • COSSI holds bimonthly one-hour virtual knowledge exchange meetings (webinars) that feature presentations from within and outside the network.
• Advocacy
  • COSSI pursues broader opportunities to advance the standing and usage of vaccination social science in Australian policymaking. In 2022, COSSI wrote to Australia's Minister for the Public Service and met with Australian Public Service staffers, aiming to address the use of private consulting firms and build relationships for research collaboration.
  • COSSI has advised on Australia's development of a Centre for Disease Control (CDC), which the federal government committed to establishing, with the first phase commencing in early 2024. COSSI formed a sub-committee to research and advocate for the embedding of social science into the CDC's structure and functions.
• Outputs: For example, in 2021, COSSI published three articles in the Medical Journal of Australia, addressing strategies to maintain vaccination, how to talk about vaccine safety, and how policymakers and organisations should approach the question of mandating vaccines.

Per COSSI: "National networks that are connected to policy and practice help to ensure that research programs align to existing policy and program challenges, reduce duplication, and support knowledge translation for impact. National networks also benefit newcomers in the field, who benefit from rapid exposure to existing people, paradigms, methods, and debates."

COSSI's elected Chair and Deputy Chair serve two-year terms. The Steering Committee, which numbered 31 members as of late 2023, has no set limit or term restrictions. Committee members are nominated and elected biannually, alongside the Chair and Deputy Chair elections, and must include at least one early career researcher and two First Nations members.

The Committee received the 2022 Public Health Association of Australia President's Award for outstanding contribution to the betterment and protection of Public Health in Australia. The award recognised COSSI's work in risk communication, community engagement, and social and behavioural science research.