13th September 2026
On 6 September 2026, the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) Primore Network convened its annual Masterclass on Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Care Research in Hohenstein and Stuttgart, Germany. This year’s theme (vaccination hesitancy) brought together primary care researchers, nurses, and health professionals from across Europe to exchange evidence, practical tools, and communication strategies for building vaccine confidence in clinical settings.
Our Lab Director, Dr. Angelos Kassianos, served as one of four trainers of the event alongside Prof. Sirje Sammul (Tartu Applied Health Sciences University), Dr. Elena Petelos (University of Crete / EMA HCPWP), and Prof. Dr. Maria van den Muijsenbergh (EFPC Chair, Nijmegen). The masterclass was funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and co-hosted in the context of the EU-funded projects EUVABECO and co-OPERATOR (EU project 101133251).
Dr. Kassianos’ presentation
During the opening lecture block, Dr. Kassianos presented “From Vaccine Hesitancy to Vaccine Confidence: Behavioural Science, Communication, and the co-OPERATOR Digital Toolkit.” The talk drew on the Co-Operator’s activities and tools and our work in health psychology and behaviour change to map the psychological drivers of vaccine hesitancy from risk perception and trust to social norms and information overload and to show how evidence-based communication approaches can shift this landscape in practice.
Central to the presentation was the co-OPERATOR digital toolkit, which translates behavioural science principles into actionable, interprofessional resources for primary care teams addressing vaccine hesitancy with patients. Dr. Kassianos outlined how the toolkit supports practitioners in structuring conversations, tailoring messaging, and embedding confidence-building strategies into routine care.
“The shift from hesitancy to confidence is rarely about giving people more information, it is about the quality of the conversation, the relationship, and the trust that underpins it.”
A rich programme of interprofessional exchange
The three-and-a-half-hour masterclass moved from evidence to practice. Following the opening lectures participants engaged in a live communication role-play: a healthcare professional navigating a parent’s hesitancy around measles vaccination in a young child. Plenary discussion drew out what works well in real-world clinical encounters.
The afternoon concluded with small group discussions on interprofessional research priorities in vaccination hesitancy examining what outcomes matter most from different professional perspectives and which disciplines should be at the table in future research design.
The BSIH Lab’s involvement in the Primore Masterclass reflects our continuing commitment to translating behavioural science into practical tools for primary care and to cross-disciplinary, cross-national collaboration on the health communication challenges that matter most.
