3 A mobile health-supported bundle to improve routine childhood vaccine completion rate in Nigeria

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Barriers to childhood vaccine completion include forgeting vaccine appointments, lack of clinic access (distance and funds), and vaccine hesitancy. We tested the impact of automated and real-time appointment reminders, vaccine hesitancy counseling, and targeted vaccine drives on receiving the third dose of the diphtheria vaccine.

METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: An implementation study to determine the feasibility and impact of implementing a mobile health-supported intervention bundle. A digital vaccine registry was developed to manage vaccine uptake data. The intervention bundle was applied sequentially: each registered parent received an automated appointment phone reminder (text and voice). If they delayed for >5 days, they received a real time reminder phone call. If during the real time call vaccine hesitancy was deemed to be a barrier, counseling was provided. If access - lack of funds or long distance - to the clinic was the barrier, vaccination was performed at patient's home on the monthly vaccine drives. We compared vaccine completion (all childhood vaccines before 18 months) during the implementation to the preceding three years.

RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate the implementation will be feasible as >90% of all eligible children will be registered. We expect providers will be accepting and would recommend the intervention to other providers. We anticipate the intervention will result in a >10% increase in childhood vaccine completion compared to the average of the past three years.

DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We anticipate applying a multifaceted intervention will be acceptable to providers, feasible to implement, and significantly improve childhood vaccine completion rates moving Nigeria closer to achieving the global target of >95% childhood vaccine completion rate.