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Mobile Vaccine Uptake (MoVeUP): a randomized effectiveness trial for a vaccine communication app
Ellen K Kerns1,2, Songthip Ounpraseuth3, Paul Darden3,4
1Children's Nebraska, Omaha, NE, United States of America.
Insights
A mobile health app did not significantly increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake in children. However, the study suggests exploring mHealth apps for other vaccinations, especially in rural populations.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Digital Health
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine uptake remains a public health concern.
- Mobile health (mHealth) applications offer a potential strategy to improve vaccination rates.
- Caregiver engagement via mHealth apps is being explored to address low pediatric vaccination coverage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a caregiver-facing mHealth application in promoting pediatric COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
- To compare a dedicated vaccine communication app against a general health education app.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving caregivers of unvaccinated children across 29 clinics in 15 states.
- Caregivers were assigned to either a vaccine communication (Vup) app or a general health (GenH) app.
- Child vaccination status was self-reported by caregivers and verified over a 24-week period.
Main Results:
- Low overall vaccination initiation and completion rates were observed in the study cohort.
- No statistically significant difference in COVID-19 vaccine initiation was found between the Vup and GenH app groups.
- A trend towards higher vaccine series completion was noted in the Vup group, particularly among rural children.
Conclusions:
- The study's diverse cohort and low overall uptake limited the ability to detect significant effects of the mHealth app.
- mHealth applications may hold promise for promoting other childhood vaccinations.
- Further research is recommended to investigate the utility of mHealth interventions in rural populations and for different vaccine types.
Background:
COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children remains low. Bundling multiple strategies into a mobile health (mHealth) application (app) may be effective in promoting vaccine uptake. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of a caregiver-facing mHealth app on pediatric COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
Methods:
Caregivers of a child unvaccinated for COVID-19 were recruited from 29 clinics in 15 states. Caregivers were randomized to either a COVID-19 vaccine communication (Vup) or a general health education (GenH) app. Caregivers self-reported (with verification) their child's COVID-19 vaccinations over a 24-week study period. Mixed-effect Poisson regression models were run adjusting for clinic and stratified by child age and rurality.
Results:
From 15Jul22-14Feb23, 727(32% rural, 50% white) caregivers of 1205 unvaccinated children were enrolled. 22(3.7%) children of caregivers randomized to VUp compared to 25(3.6%) and 7(1.1%) children of caregivers randomized to GenH initiated COVID-19 vaccination (unadjusted relative risk (uRR): 0.85(95% CI:0.49-1.50). 13(2.2%) Vup versus 7(1.1%) GenH completed (uRR: 1.80(95%CI:0.72-4.49)). Among rural children, the uRR of vaccine series completion was 6.22(95%CI:1.38-28.03). Adjusted models showed similar effect sizes.
Conclusions:
Overall low vaccination uptake in this diverse cohort limited the power to detect an effect. Future studies should examine the utility of mHealth apps on other vaccinations, particularly in rural populations.
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