Addressing fear, hesitancy in the Mennonite community amid Alberta’s measles outbreak

A team of Alberta community health representatives is addressing fear associated with vaccines for the Low German-speaking Mennonite community in the midst of the measles outbreak.

Quelling the spread of measles involves immunization campaigns and public health protocols, but Tina Meggison says it also requires sitting down and having an open and honest conversation.

That’s what she’s working to do within the Low German-speaking Mennonite community in Alberta.

Meggison has more than a decade of professional — and a lifetime of personal — experience under her belt.

Her team of community health representatives with Primary Care Alberta has seen a 25 per cent increase in demand for their services, which include accompanying patients to doctor’s appointments and interpreting and answering questions in Low German, since the onset of an outbreak in March.

That’s about 350 calls per month on average, compared to 285 before the contagious disease spread to 1,656 people in the province.

Meggison said the rise of people reaching out to the provincial health agency shows an interest to engage in the health-care system, which historically has not always been the case.

The next step is taking that outstretched hand and placing knowledge into it.

“We can invite our families to start thinking from a different lens, or see things through a different lens, and maybe start to answer those questions.”