Using Mobile Phones to Improve Vaccination Uptake in 21 Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review

Oliver‐Williams, Clare; Brown, Elizabeth F.; Devereux, Sara; Fairhead, Cassandra; Holeman, Isaac

doi:10.2196/mhealth.7792

Cited by 65 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Pathogens detection was performed using the Fast track Diagnostic Kit (FTD Respiratory pathogens 21 kit Luxembourg) which is a multiplex PCR essay designed to detect 21 pathogens. The kit presents 6 tubes multiplex PCR for the detection of different pathogens: (i) First tube: influenza A, influenza B, influenza A H1N1, human rhinovirus; (ii) second tube: coronavirus NL63, coronavirus 229E, coronavirus OC43, coronavirus (HKU1); (iii) third tube: parainfluenza 2, parainfluenza 3, parainfluenza 4, Internal Control; [19]…”

Section: Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper respiratory infections in a rural area with reduced malaria transmission in Senegal: a pathogens community study

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAcute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are common causes of febrile illnesses in many settings in Senegal. These infections are usually managed presumptively due to lack of appropriate diagnostic tools. This situation, can lead to poor management of febrile illness or antibiotic misuse. In addition, there are limited data on the spectrum of pathogens commonly responsible for these ARI. This study was conducted to explore the pathogens community among patients with acute respiratory infection in a rural area in Senegal.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted from August to December 2015. Children and adult patients attending Keur Socé health post for signs suggestive of acute respiratory infection were enrolled after providing inform consent. Eligible participants were recruited using a consecutive sampling method. Paired nose and throat swabs were collected for pathogen detection. Samples were processed using a multiplex PCR designed to identify 21 pathogens including both virus and bacteria.ResultsTwo hundred and fifty patients participated in the study. Samples positivity rate was evaluated at 95.2% (238/250). Streptococcus pneumoniae was the predominant pathogen (74%) and was present in all months and all age-groups, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (28,8%) and rhinovirus (28,4%). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected only among children under 5 years old in August and September while coronavirus was present in all age groups, during the months of October and December.ConclusionThis pilot study revealed a diversity of pathogens over the time and across all age groups, highlighting the need for further exploration. A pathogen community approach including both virus and bacteria at a larger scale becomes crucial for a better understanding of transmission dynamics at population level in order to help shape ARI control strategies.

show abstract

Section: Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper respiratory infections in a rural area with reduced malaria transmission in Senegal: a pathogens community study

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Amidst the barriers, there are existing opportunities that can be harnessed to improve vaccine utilisation in these settings. These include scheduled vaccination exercises, using VHTs and mobile technology [5,18]. Residents and health managers appreciate the value of these combined strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, intervention programs that focus primarily on individual determinants are limited in efficacy if they do not simultaneously address the structural enablers that shape behavioural uptake to vaccines [9]. Some of these include the use of technologies and mobile telephone application as mediators [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quite often, residents have to access the mainland for better health care and services of value such as vaccines through fishing and commercial boat services run by non-medically trained fishermen and boat riders. Use of technologies and mobile phone applications also known as mHealth (mobile health) has potential to increase vaccination coverage in islands and landing sites of fishing communities in Low and Middle Income Countries where vaccinations reminders have been successful [18]. Remote underserved settings require innovative solutions, responding to user, structural and supply-side factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Barriers to vaccine uptake in the fishing and island communities of Uganda: a qualitative study

Bakibinga¹,

Kisia²,

Lodda

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Despite global and local initiatives to increase vaccine uptake, timeliness of vaccinations and vaccine uptake remain low among residents of islands and fishing communities in Uganda. Vaccine coverage (all vaccines) among island communities stands at 37.1% compared to 55%, the national level. This qualitative study was conducted to (i) understand key barriers to vaccine uptake among residents of islands and fishing communities of Lake Victoria, Buganda sub-region, Uganda and (ii) identify specific needs of the communities; ahead of implementation of a mobile health intervention to promote vaccine uptake. Methods: Explorator y qualitative. Data were collected through focus group discussions with women of reproductive age and village health teams (VHT) and key informant interviews with the health coordinators and health service providers. Data were analysed through content analysis, by coding pre-established and recurrent themes.Results: Under the barriers, seven themes were identified: Opportunity cost of seeking vaccines versus making a living, Distance/Cost to health facility, Availability of service provider, Attitudes towards vaccines, Decision making regarding the use of vaccines, Knowledge of availability of services, and Attitudes of service providers. Participants suggested strategies to improve uptake: 1) more health education and regular reminders using VHTs, public address systems and mobile technology; 2) bring services closer to people through scheduled vaccination campaigns to reduce on cost of seeking services; and 3) strengthening public-private partnerships in the health sector for delivery of vaccine services. Conclusion: In light of the current barriers to vaccine uptake, innovations to increase the utilisation of vaccination services in remote underserved settings need to be multi-pronged, responding to user, structural and supply-side factors. The use of mobile technology and public-private partnerships for health have the potential to bridge existing vaccine delivery and uptake gaps.

show abstract

“…Studies have con rmed that cardholder prevalence is low in the most resource-poor environments [10], and that card under-utilization is a widespread problem. Mobile-technology based reminder-recall interventions have tried to address this issue, but their success has also been partial [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of vaccine reminder and tracker bracelets on routine childhood immunization coverage and timeliness in urban Pakistan (2017-18): a randomized controlled trial

Siddiqi

Ali

Munir

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Inability to track children’s vaccination history coupled with parents’ lack of awareness of vaccination due dates compounds the problem of low immunization coverage and timeliness in developing countries. We evaluated the impact of two types of silicon immunization reminder bracelets for children in improving immunization coverage and timeliness of Pentavalent-3 and the Measles-1 vaccines. Methods: Children <3 months were enrolled in either of the 2 intervention groups (Alma Sana Bracelet Group and Star Bracelet Group) or the Control group. Children in the intervention groups were provided the 2 different bracelets at the time of recruitment. Each time the child visited the immunization center, a hole was perforated in the silicon bracelet to denote vaccine administration. Each child was followed up till administration of Measles-1 vaccine or till 12 months of age (if they did not come to the center for vaccination). Data was analyzed using the intention-to-treat population between groups. The unadjusted and adjusted Risk Ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for Pentavalent-3 and Measles-1 coverage at 12 months of age were estimated through bivariate and multivariate analysis. Time-to-Pentavalent-3 and Measles-1 immunization curves were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: A total of 1,445 children were enrolled in the study between July 19, 2017 and October 10, 2017. Baseline characteristics among the three groups were similar. Up-to-date coverage for the Pentavalent-3 /Measles-1 vaccine at 12 months of age was 84.6%/72.0%, 85.4%/70.5% and 83.0%/68.5% in Alma Sana Bracelet group, Star Bracelet group and Control group respectively but the differences were not statistically significant. In the multivariate analysis, neither the Alma Sana bracelet (adjusted RR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.96-1.06), (adjusted RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.97-1.13) nor the Star bracelet (adjusted RR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.96-1.06) (adjusted RR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.95-1.11) was significantly associated with Pentavalent-3 vaccination or Measles-1 vaccination. Conclusion: Although we did not observe any significant impact of the bracelets on improved immunization coverage and timeliness, our findings add to the existing literature on innovative, low cost reminders for health and make several suggestions for enhancing practical implementation of these tools.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03310762. Retrospectively Registered on October 16, 2017.

show abstract

Using Mobile Phones to Improve Vaccination Uptake in 21 Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review

Cited by 65 publications

References 23 publications

Upper respiratory infections in a rural area with reduced malaria transmission in Senegal: a pathogens community study

Upper respiratory infections in a rural area with reduced malaria transmission in Senegal: a pathogens community study

Barriers to vaccine uptake in the fishing and island communities of Uganda: a qualitative study

Effect of vaccine reminder and tracker bracelets on routine childhood immunization coverage and timeliness in urban Pakistan (2017-18): a randomized controlled trial

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About