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Published on: February 22, 2019
Life-course vaccination requires life-course performance metrics
Charles S Wiysonge1, Ado M Bwaka2, Aschalew Teka Bekele2
1Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Parrow Valley, 7500 Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, 7505 Cape Town, South Africa; Centre for Equitable Immunisation and Pandemic Preparedness, Bellville, 7530 Cape Town, South Africa.
Vaccination is now a life-course intervention, not just for children. Current performance metrics, like diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) infant coverage, are insufficient for modern immunisation programmes. New metrics are needed to assess access, completion, timeliness, and protection across all life stages.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Immunology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Vaccination has evolved from a childhood intervention to a lifelong public health strategy.
- Current evaluation of vaccination programmes primarily relies on early childhood indicators.
- Existing metrics do not adequately capture the complexities of life-course immunisation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the inadequacy of current vaccination programme performance metrics.
- To advocate for the development of comprehensive monitoring frameworks for life-course vaccination.
- To propose the inclusion of access, completion, timeliness, and protection as key performance indicators.
Main Methods:
- Review of current vaccination programme evaluation standards.
- Analysis of the scope of modern immunisation schedules.
- Conceptual framework development for life-course vaccination metrics.
Main Results:
- The predominant metric, infant diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) coverage, is insufficient for assessing life-course vaccination programmes.
- Modern immunisation requires a multifaceted approach to performance monitoring.
- A need exists for metrics that encompass the entire vaccination schedule and population.
Conclusions:
- Vaccination programmes must adopt performance metrics that reflect their life-course nature.
- Comprehensive monitoring should include access, completion, timeliness, and protection across all age groups.
- Rethinking performance indicators is crucial for optimising public health outcomes in immunisation.
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