Effectiveness of short message services reminder on childhood immunization programme in Kadoma, Zimbabwe - a randomized controlled trial, 2013

Bangure, Donewell; Chirundu, Daniel; Gombe, Notion Tafara; Marufu, Tawanda; Mandozana, Gibson; Tshimanga, Mufuta; Takundwa, Lucia

doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1470-6

Cited by 113 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

119

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Enrolment of infants before their first vaccination ensures that the study sample was representative of its population by including infants who might not go for any vaccines. Second, this trial was designed and implemented to closely mimic an effectiveness study and with scalability in mind by enrolling caregivers independent of mobile phone ownership, a study design unlike some m-health intervention trials that provide a mobile phone 7 or require one for enrolment 8, 14, 37. We do not believe the high coverage estimates observed in the control group were due to study participation (ie, Hawthorne effect) because the coverage was similar to that in a baseline survey done before the trial 27 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SMS reminders significantly improve both health-seeking behaviours and outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and immunisation uptake in the USA 12, 13. However, the evidence that these approaches increase immunisation coverage and timeliness in Africa and low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is insufficient and has predominantly focused only on timely pentavalent (DTP, Haemophilus influenzae type B [Hib] and Hepatitis B) vaccination 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mobile phone-delivered reminders and incentives to improve childhood immunisation coverage and timeliness in Kenya (M-SIMU): a cluster randomised controlled trial

Gibson

Ochieng

Kagucia

et al. 2017

The Lancet Global Health

141

153

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryBackgroundAs mobile phone access continues to expand globally, opportunities exist to leverage these technologies to support demand for immunisation services and improve vaccine coverage. We aimed to assess whether short message service (SMS) reminders and monetary incentives can improve immunisation uptake in Kenya.MethodsIn this cluster-randomised controlled trial, villages were randomly and evenly allocated to four groups: control, SMS only, SMS plus a 75 Kenya Shilling (KES) incentive, and SMS plus 200 KES (85 KES = USD$1). Caregivers were eligible if they had a child younger than 5 weeks who had not yet received a first dose of pentavalent vaccine. Participants in the intervention groups received SMS reminders before scheduled pentavalent and measles immunisation visits. Participants in incentive groups, additionally, received money if their child was timely immunised (immunisation within 2 weeks of the due date). Caregivers and interviewers were not masked. The proportion of fully immunised children (receiving BCG, three doses of polio vaccine, three doses of pentavalent vaccine, and measles vaccine) by 12 months of age constituted the primary outcome and was analysed with log-binomial regression and General Estimating Equations to account for correlation within clusters. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878435.FindingsBetween Oct 14, 2013, and Oct 17, 2014, we enrolled 2018 caregivers and their infants from 152 villages into the following four groups: control (n=489), SMS only (n=476), SMS plus 75 KES (n=562), and SMS plus 200 KES (n=491). Overall, 1375 (86%) of 1600 children who were successfully followed up achieved the primary outcome, full immunisation by 12 months of age (296 [82%] of 360 control participants, 332 [86%] of 388 SMS only participants, 383 [86%] of 446 SMS plus 75 KES participants, and 364 [90%] of 406 SMS plus 200 KES participants). Children in the SMS plus 200 KES group were significantly more likely to achieve full immunisation at 12 months of age (relative risk 1·09, 95% CI 1·02–1·16, p=0·014) than children in the control group.InterpretationIn a setting with high baseline immunisation coverage levels, SMS reminders coupled with incentives significantly improved immunisation coverage and timeliness. Given that global immunisation coverage levels have stagnated around 85%, the use of incentives might be one option to reach the remaining 15%.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile phone-delivered reminders and incentives to improve childhood immunisation coverage and timeliness in Kenya (M-SIMU): a cluster randomised controlled trial

Gibson

Ochieng

Kagucia

et al. 2017

The Lancet Global Health

141

153

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…20 Trials investigating reminders for other recommended vaccines have shown similar results. 21,22 Other immunization reminder systems, such as letters, have been successful 23,24 but are more resource and time intensive, and at least 1 study has found that SMS to be more effective in comparison. 25 Despite a 39% relative increase in vaccinations among those whom were sent an SMS, the absolute increase in our setting was modest (3.5%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Randomized Controlled Trial of Text Message Reminders for Increasing Influenza Vaccination

Regan

Bloomfield

Peters³

et al. 2017

Ann Fam Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PURPOSE Seasonal influenza vaccine is recommended and funded for groups at higher risk of serious infection, but uptake is suboptimal. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of short message service (SMS) reminders for influenza vaccination.METHODS Six weeks after seasonal influenza vaccinations began, we identified high-risk patients who had a mobile telephone number on record at 10 practices in Western Australia. Thirty-two percent of the selected patients had already been vaccinated in the current year and were ineligible. Of the remaining 12,354 eligible patients at each practice one-half were randomly assigned to receive a vaccination reminder by SMS (intervention) and the rest received no SMS (control). Approximately 3 months after the SMS was sent (the study period), vaccination data were extracted from the patients' electronic medical records. Log-binomial regression models were used to calculate the relative risk (RR) of vaccination between the intervention and control group. RESULTSTwelve-percent (769 of 6,177) of the intervention group and 9% (548 of 6,177) of the control group were vaccinated during the study period, a 39% relative increase attributable to the SMS (RR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26-1.54). For every 29 SMSs sent, costing $3.48, 1 additional high-risk patient was immunized. The greatest effect was observed for children younger than 5 years, whose parents were more than twice as likely to have their child vaccinated if they received a SMS reminder (RR = 2.43; 95% CI, 1.79-3.29).CONCLUSION We found SMS reminders to be a modestly effective, low-cost means to increase seasonal influenza vaccine coverage among high-risk patients. 2017;15:507-514. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2120. Ann Fam Med INTRODUCTIONI nfluenza is associated with major morbidity and mortality.1 It is estimated that globally 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and 300,000 to 500,000 deaths can be attributed to influenza infection each year.1 Individuals aged 65 years or older and children aged 5 years or younger, those with chronic medical conditions (eg, asthma, chronic heart disease, diabetes), and pregnant women are most at increased risk of serious influenza illness.2 In Australia, seasonal influenza vaccination is provided at no cost for these high-risk groups, as well as for persons who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (ie, Indigenous Australians).3 Despite a clear recommendation for annual seasonal influenza vaccination and the provision of government-purchased vaccine, seasonal influenza vaccine uptake has been poor among many high-risk groups. [4][5][6][7][8][9] The latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicate that, although 75% of adults aged 65 years or older received a seasonal influenza vaccine, only 36% of other high-risk populations are vaccinated.10 Strategies are needed to improve the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccines in these patient populations.Prior research has shown that expanded access to influenza vaccines, standing orders, provider feedback and ince...

show abstract

“…Some innovative actions are being developed to increase session sizes. In a randomized controlled trial from Zimbabwe, vaccination coverage was significantly higher among mothers who received a reminder to get their child vaccinated than among mothers who did not receive any reminders . Further, introducing a second dose of routine MV as recommended by the WHO could increase overall MV coverage and reduce open vial wastage as more doses would be required in each session.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household experience and costs of seeking measles vaccination in rural Guinea‐Bissau

Byberg

Fisker

Rodrigues

et al. 2016

Tropical Med Int Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstractobjectives Children younger than 12 months of age are eligible for childhood vaccines through the public health system in Guinea-Bissau. To limit open vial wastage, a restrictive vial opening policy has been implemented; 10-dose measles vaccine vials are only opened if six or more children aged 9-11 months are present at the vaccination post. Consequently, mothers who bring their child for measles vaccination can be told to return another day. We aimed to describe the household experience and estimate household costs of seeking measles vaccination in rural Guinea-Bissau.methods Within a national sample of village clusters under demographic surveillance, we interviewed mothers of children aged 9-21 months about their experience with seeking measles vaccination. From information about time and money spent, we calculated household costs of seeking measles vaccination.results We interviewed mothers of 1308 children of whom 1043 (80%) had sought measles vaccination at least once. Measles vaccination coverage was 70% (910/1308). Coverage decreased with increasing distance to the health centre. On average, mothers who had taken their child for vaccination took their child 1.4 times. Mean costs of achieving 70% coverage were 2.04 USD (SD 3.86) per child taken for vaccination. Half of the mothers spent more than 2 h seeking vaccination and 11% spent money on transportation.conclusions We found several indications of missed opportunities for measles vaccination resulting in suboptimal coverage. The household costs comprised 3.3% of the average monthly income and should be taken into account when assessing the costs of delivering vaccinations.

show abstract

Effectiveness of short message services reminder on childhood immunization programme in Kadoma, Zimbabwe - a randomized controlled trial, 2013

Cited by 113 publications

References 25 publications

Mobile phone-delivered reminders and incentives to improve childhood immunisation coverage and timeliness in Kenya (M-SIMU): a cluster randomised controlled trial

Mobile phone-delivered reminders and incentives to improve childhood immunisation coverage and timeliness in Kenya (M-SIMU): a cluster randomised controlled trial

Randomized Controlled Trial of Text Message Reminders for Increasing Influenza Vaccination

Household experience and costs of seeking measles vaccination in rural Guinea‐Bissau

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About