BEACON: Bexsero: Evaluation of Attitudes, Challenges and Opportunities for N. gonorrhoeae prevention - research to inform vaccine programme implementation

Legacy project: In November 2023, health experts in the UK recommended using a vaccine called 4CMenB (Bexsero) to help protect people from gonorrhoea—a common sexually transmitted infection. This new programme is mainly aimed at gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) who are at higher risk. The vaccine isn’t officially licensed for gonorrhoea yet, but studies suggest it could help. From August, this vaccine would be given through specialist sexual health services. These are clinics where people can go for help with sexual health and infections. For the vaccine programme to work, it is important that both the people offered the vaccine and the healthcare professionals (HCPs) who give it are supportive of it. If they are unsure or have concerns, fewer people might get vaccinated, which would reduce the programme’s success.  Through this research we will learn what GBMSM think and feel about getting this vaccine, and will understand what healthcare workers think about giving the vaccine and talking about it with patients.  This will help us to identify what might encourage or discourage people from getting vaccinated.

The study will help create better information and support around the vaccine, so more people are likely to take it. It will also provide guidance on how we can talk about the vaccine clearly, making it easier for health services to introduce the programme successfully.

Our aim is to make sure that people most at risk—and the health workers who care for them—understand, accept, and feel confident in a new vaccine programme to help reduce the spread of gonorrhoea.