Tracking Demographic Movements and Immunization Status to Improve Children's Access to Immunization: Field-Based...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Global Health
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is crucial for reducing child mortality and morbidity.
• Vaccine access remains a significant challenge in low-income countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if community volunteers (CVs) tracking vaccination status and demographic movements improve immunization timeliness, completeness, and coverage.
• To evaluate the impact of using recorded data for planning catch-up immunization sessions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Cameroon's Foumban health district.
• Community volunteers monitored households monthly, recording immunization data transmitted via WhatsApp for catch-up sessions.
• Immunization timeliness, coverage, and completeness were assessed at 6 and 12 months.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in coverage for DPT-HepB-Hib dose 3 and dose 1 were observed in the intervention group.
• Vaccine completeness (specific and general series) significantly improved with the intervention.
• While BCG timeliness did not universally increase, specific age groups showed improvement.

Conclusions:

• Involving community volunteers to track vaccination status and plan catch-up sessions effectively improves childhood immunization outcomes.
• This strategy enhances vaccine access for EPI target populations and should be considered for wider adoption.
• Further verification of consistency in diverse contexts is recommended.