Background Given the widespread and concerted efforts to propagate health misinformation on social media, particularly centered around vaccination during the pandemic, many groups of clinicians and scientists were organized on social media to tackle misinformation and promote vaccination, using a national or international lens. Although documenting the impact of such social media efforts, particularly at the community level, can be challenging, a more hyperlocal or “place-based approach” for social media campaigns could be effective in tackling misinformation and improving public health outcomes at a community level. Objective We aimed to describe and document the effectiveness of a place-based strategy for a coordinated group of Chicago health care workers on social media to tackle misinformation and improve vaccination rates in the communities they serve. Methods The Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team (IMPACT) was founded in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with representatives from major academic teaching hospitals in Chicago (eg, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Rush University) and community-based organizations. Through crowdsourcing on multiple social media platforms (eg, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) with a place-based approach, IMPACT engaged grassroots networks of thousands of Illinois health care workers and the public to identify gaps, needs, and viewpoints to improve local health care delivery during the pandemic. Results To address vaccine misinformation, IMPACT created 8 “myth debunking” infographics and a “vaccine information series” of 14 infographics that have generated >340,000 impressions and informed the development of vaccine education for the Chicago Public Libraries. IMPACT delivered 13 policy letters focusing on different topics, such as health care worker personal protective equipment, universal masking, and vaccination, with >4000 health care workers signatures collected through social media and delivered to policy makers; it published over 50 op-eds on COVID-19 topics in high-impact news outlets and contributed to >200 local and national news features. Using the crowdsourcing approach on IMPACT social media channels, IMPACT mobilized health care and lay volunteers to staff >400 vaccine events for >120,000 individuals, many in Chicago’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. The group’s recommendations have influenced public health awareness campaigns and initiatives, as well as research, advocacy, and policy recommendations, and they have been recognized with local and national awards. Conclusions A coordinated group of health care workers on social media, using a hyperlocal place-based approach, can not only work together to address misinformation but also collaborate to boost vaccination rates in their surrounding communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender inequity in medicine, with women physicians reporting greater household responsibilities than their men counterparts and steeper barriers to career advancement. The pandemic highlighted the systemic assumptions and challenges faced by women physicians, which we anticipate is also true in our field of oncology. Prior literature suggests that women physicians were tasked with increased personal and professional responsibilities without compensation for their additional work, as well as derailments in career progression and significant burnout. Our aims are to highlight areas of opportunity to optimize the workplace experience of the oncology workforce and to invest in the professional well-being and sustainability of women oncologists as a step toward global workplace equity and future pandemic preparedness.

UNSTRUCTURED Using survey data, we explore the experience of women oncologists during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it can inform future system change for equity and health in our field.

BACKGROUND Given widespread and concerted efforts to propagate health misinformation on social media, particularly centered around vaccination during the pandemic, many groups of clinicians and scientists organized on social media to tackle misinformation and promote vaccination using a national or international lens. While documenting the impact of such social media efforts, particularly at the community level, can be challenging, a more hyperlocal or “place-based approach” for social media campaigns could be effective at tackling misinformation and improving public health outcomes on a community level. OBJECTIVE To describe and document the effectiveness of a place-based strategy for a coordinated group of healthcare workers on social media from Chicago to tackle misinformation and improve vaccination rates in their own communities. METHODS The Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team (IMPACT) was founded in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with representatives from major academic teaching hospitals in Chicago (University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Rush University) and community-based organizations. Through crowdsourcing on multiple social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) with a place-based approach, IMPACT engaged grassroots networks of thousands of Illinois healthcare workers and the public to identify gaps, needs, and viewpoints to improve local healthcare delivery during the pandemic. RESULTS To address vaccine misinformation, IMPACT created 8 “myth debunking” infographics and 14 informational vaccine infographics that have generated >340K impressions and informed the development of vaccine education for the Chicago Public Libraries. IMPACT delivered 13 policy letters focusing on different topics (i.e. healthcare worker personal protective equipment, universal masking, vaccination) with >4000 healthcare workers (HCWs) signatures collected through social media to policymakers, published over 50 op-eds on COVID-19 topics in high impact news outlets, and contributed to >200 local and national news features. Using the crowdsourcing approach on IMPACT social media channels, IMPACT mobilized healthcare and lay volunteers to staff over 400 vaccine events for over 120,000 individuals, many in Chicago’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. The group’s recommendations have influenced public health awareness campaigns and initiatives, research, advocacy, and policy recommendations, and have been recognized with local and national awards. CONCLUSIONS A coordinated group of healthcare workers on social media using a hyperlocal place-based approach can not only work together to address misinformation but can also collaborate to boost vaccination rates in their surrounding communities.