Vaccination adherence: Review and proposed model

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Mobile Health (mHealth)

Background:

• Childhood vaccine-preventable diseases require adherence to vaccination schedules.
• Barriers to vaccination include lack of awareness, missed appointments, and fear of complications.
• Smartphone applications offer a potential solution to improve vaccination compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing vaccination adherence tools and publications.
• To propose a design for a smartphone application to enhance vaccination adherence.
• To address limitations in current reminder systems and apps.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed Android and iOS vaccination reminder apps based on educational factors, customization, reminders, peer education, feedback, and language.
• Searched PubMed for literature on reminder systems and apps.
• Analyzed existing apps for features and limitations.

Main Results:

• Found limited technology-based interventions (n=6) for vaccination reminders, with only two publications on mobile apps.
• Identified ten apps in app stores; only one supported the Saudi vaccination schedule in Arabic but had weaknesses.
• Proposed a new app design incorporating features to overcome identified limitations.

Conclusions:

• A novel vaccination reminder app design was developed to improve immunization schedule compliance.
• The proposed app includes features for parental education, peer support, and personal health record-keeping.
• The design aims to address parental concerns and fears, thereby increasing vaccine uptake.