Empowering mothers: Anagretel’s passion for raising vaccine awareness

Both parents play an essential role in supporting their family’s health, but mothers are still widely seen as the primary caregivers, decision-makers and influencers in their child’s healthcare. Recognizing this reality, ZS partnered with a leading global pharmaceutical and healthcare company to take action—engaging mothers from varying cultural backgrounds about the importance of prenatal and infant vaccination.

Where passion changes lives

Anagretel Lozano, a strategy insights and planning consultant based in Chicago, is leading this work. With deep expertise in preventive care and cultural insights, she’s helping shape outreach that resonates.

“Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants and poses a significant threat to the health of families,” she says. “Prenatal and infant vaccination against RSV is not just a precaution—it’s a proactive step toward safeguarding the most vulnerable members of our communities. By educating mothers about the importance of vaccination, we empower them to protect their babies from this preventable illness, ensuring a healthier start to life.”

Reaching families from different cultural backgrounds is essential. As a native Spanish speaker, Anagretel has focused on designing strategies that connect with Spanish-speaking mothers—making sure vaccination messages are not just delivered, but understood and trusted.

“From the start, our client emphasized the need to diversify our research and outreach,” Anagretel says. “Our goal was to mirror U.S. census data—since 18.7% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, our trials and focus groups needed to reflect that same percentage.”

Taking a patient-first approach, Anagretel and her team prioritized listening and learning from the communities they aimed to serve. They scheduled interviews around mothers’ busy lives, held focus groups in convenient locations and tailored communication tactics to ensure Spanish-speaking mothers could easily participate.

Thanks to this thoughtful approach, the team uncovered critical insights that helped boost vaccine awareness and adoption. They learned when mothers begin to think about vaccinations and postpartum care—key moments to engage. “Being pregnant is overwhelming, and care often drops off after birth,” Anagretel says. “Understanding the right timing for outreach makes a real difference in adoption.”

With a strong grasp of public health and cultural nuance, the team knew that messaging for Spanish-speaking mothers had to reflect their lived experiences and healthcare expectations. Trust in providers varies widely based on past experiences and socioeconomic status.

Through market research, they were able to tailor their messaging with cultural specificity—avoiding translations that fell flat or misinterpreted important nuances. “There are phrases that work in English but make no sense in Spanish,” Anagretel says. “By working closely with Spanish-speaking mothers, we were able to uncover a new play on words or misunderstandings that would have been otherwise missed.”

By building trust and removing language and cultural barriers, the team ensured Spanish-speaking mothers felt seen and heard throughout the process. This patient-first model is designed to equip all mothers with the knowledge and confidence to protect their children.

ZS is proud to support this work, bridging insights and empathy to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

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