Immunization, urbanization and slums - a systematic review of factors and interventions

The urban-poor vaccination: Challenges and strategies in low-and-middle income countries

Vaccination is one of the success stories of public health. The benefit of vaccination goes beyond individual protection to include promoting population well-being, improving cognitive development, and increasing economic productivity. However, the existing inequalities in the access to vaccination undermines its impact. There are significant variations in the coverage of vaccination between and within countries. Despite that urban populations have better access to health services; evidence has shown that the urban poor have the worst health indicators including vaccination uptake. Additionally, there are unique challenges affecting vaccination in urban settings, especially in urban slums. This paper has discussed key challenges some of the proposed interventions that can improve urban vaccination service delivery.

Social norms, vaccine confidence, and interpersonal communication as predictors of vaccination intentions: Findings from slum areas in Varanasi, India

In recent years, India has seen significant improvements in childhood immunization, but rates among the urban poor remain stagnant. Disruptions during COVID-19 pandemic have created further challenges. This paper focuses on how social norms, vaccine confidence, and interpersonal communication independently and jointly affect vaccine intentions among caregivers of infants living in six slum areas in Varanasi, India. Data for this study come from the baseline assessments conducted before implementing the Happy Baby Program, an intervention to improve vaccination attitudes and intentions. In-person interviews (N = 2,058) were conducted with caretakers of children up to two years old. Analyses showed that interpersonal communication about vaccines, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and vaccine confidence were each associated with intentions to vaccinate in both a bivariate and, except for injunctive norms, a multivariate model. In addition, we found significant interactions among these variables, suggesting that the roles of interpersonal communication and vaccine confidence attenuated the relationship between social norms and vaccination intention. Overall, our model explained 46.2 % of the variance in vaccine intention. Given the strengths of the relationships observed in this study, intervention strategies should focus on enhancing social norms and vaccine confidence to promote vaccination.

Interventions to increase vaccination in vulnerable groups: rapid overview of reviews

OBJECTIVE

Groups which are marginalised, disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable have lower uptake of vaccinations. This differential has been amplified in COVID-19 vaccination compared to (e.g.) influenza vaccination. This overview assessed the effectiveness of interventions to increase vaccination in underserved, minority or vulnerable groups.

METHODS

In November 2022 we searched four databases for systematic reviews that included RCTs evaluating any intervention to increase vaccination in underserved, minority or vulnerable groups; our primary outcome was vaccination. We used rapid review methods to screen, extract data and assess risk of bias in identified reviews. We undertook narrative synthesis using an approach modified from SWiM guidance. We categorised interventions as being high, medium or low intensity, and as targeting vaccine demand, access, or providers.

RESULTS

We included 23 systematic reviews, including studies in high and low or middle income countries, focused on children, adolescents and adults. Groups were vulnerable based on socioeconomic status, minority ethnicity, migrant/refugee status, age, location or LGBTQ identity. Pregnancy/maternity sometimes intersected with vulnerabilities. Evidence supported interventions including: home visits to communicate/educate and to vaccinate, and facilitator visits to practices (high intensity); telephone calls to communicate/educate, remind/book appointments (medium intensity); letters, postcards or text messages to communicate/educate, remind/book appointments and reminder/recall interventions for practices (low intensity). Many studies used multiple interventions or components.

CONCLUSION

There was considerable evidence supporting the effectiveness of communication in person, by phone or in writing to increase vaccination. Both high and low intensity interventions targeting providers showed effectiveness. Limited evidence assessed additional clinics or targeted services for increasing access; only home visits had higher confidence evidence showing effectiveness. There was no evidence for interventions for some communities, such as religious minorities which may intersect with gaps in evidence for additional services. None of the evidence related to COVID-19 vaccination where inequalities of outcome are exacerbated.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION

CRD42021293355.

Exploring the "Urban Advantage" in Access to Immunization Services: A Comparison of Zero-Dose Prevalence Between Rural, and Poor and Non-poor Urban Households Across 97 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Urban children are more likely to be vaccinated than rural children, but that advantage is not evenly distributed. Children living in poor urban areas face unique challenges, living far from health facilities and with lower-quality health services, which can impact their access to life-saving vaccines. Our goal was to compare the prevalence of zero-dose children in poor and non-poor urban and rural areas of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Zero-dose children were those who failed to receive any dose of a diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) containing vaccine. We used data from nationally representative household surveys of 97 LMICs to investigate 201,283 children aged 12-23 months. The pooled prevalence of zero-dose children was 6.5% among the urban non-poor, 12.6% for the urban poor, and 14.7% for the rural areas. There were significant differences between these areas in 43 countries. In most of these countries, the non-poor urban children were at an advantage compared to the urban poor, who were still better off or similar to rural children. Our results emphasize the inequalities between urban and rural areas, but also within urban areas, highlighting the challenges faced by poor urban and rural children. Outreach programs and community interventions that can reach poor urban and rural communities-along with strengthening of current vaccination programs and services-are important steps to reduce inequalities and ensure that no child is left unvaccinated.

Enablers and barriers to rotavirus vaccine coverage in Assam, India- A qualitative study

Background

Estimates suggest that 78,000 children died due to rotavirus gastroenteritis annually between 2011 and 2013 in India. The north eastern state of Assam reported 38.4% pediatric diarrheal admissions testing positive for rotavirus. Rotavirus vaccine (RVV) was introduced in Assam in 2017 following which the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) (2019) revealed low RVV coverage in Assam with wide variation between the districts. the current study was conceptualized and undertaken to capture the enablers and barriers to RVV coverage in Assam.

Methods

Qualitative study conducted in 5 randomly selected districts in Assam. Participants (key informants) were recruited by purposive sampling at each level of the health system including healthcare officials, service providers and caregivers based on availability. Thirty-five in-depth interviews (IDIs) and five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Data was coded and analyzed using the thematic framework approach.

Results

Findings from the qualitative data collection were collated and analyzed under 7 identified themes. Difficult terrain, limited service provider availability and no catch-up training for new recruits were some of the barriers to RVV coverage. In contrast, Information, Education & Communication (IEC) in vernacular language, RVV safety profile, development partner support and adequate RVV supply were identified as some of the enablers of RVV coverage.

Conclusion

Few broad recommendations to overcome identified barriers include comprehensive inter-sectoral coordination, regular monitoring and frequent refresher training sessions. There is a need for a future study utilizing existing coverage data and larger sample size to triangulate the findings of this study.

"I'll take them another day": A qualitative study exploring the socio-behavioral complexities of childhood vaccination in urban poor settlements

Despite improvement over recent decades, childhood vaccination uptake remains a concern across countries. The World Health Organization observed that over 25 million children missed out on one or more vaccines in 2021, with urban poor and other marginalized groups being the most affected. Given the higher risk of disease transmission and vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) outbreaks across densely populated urban slums, identifying effective interventions to improve childhood vaccination in this vulnerable population is crucial. This study explored the behavioral and social factors influencing childhood vaccination uptake in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. A grounded theory approach was employed to develop a theoretical account of the socio-behavioral determinants of childhood vaccination. Five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with purposively sampled caregivers of children under five years of age residing in informal settlements. The Theory of Planned Behavior guided the structuring of the FGD questions. An iterative process was used to analyze and identify emerging themes. Thirty-nine caregivers (median age 29 years) participated in the FGDs. From the analysis, four main thematic categories were derived. These included attitude factors such as perceived vaccine benefits, cultural beliefs, and emotional factors including parental love. Additionally, subjective norms, like fear of social judgment, and perceived behavioral control factors, such as self-control and gender-based influences, were identified. Furthermore, a number of practical factors, including the cost of vaccines and healthcare providers attitude, also affected the uptake of vaccination. Various social, behavioral, cultural, and contextual factors influence caregiver vaccination decisions in urban poor settings. Community-derived and context-specific approaches that address the complex interaction between socio-behavioral and other contextual factors need to be tested and applied to improve the timely uptake of childhood vaccinations among marginalized populations.

Immunization coverage and its associated factors among children aged 12-23 months in Ethiopia: An umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analysis studies

BACKGROUND

Immunization estimated to prevent 2 to 3 million children deaths every year from vaccine preventable disease. In Ethiopia, limited and inconclusive studies have been conducted on immunization coverage so far. Therefore, this umbrella review was intended to estimate the pooled national immunization coverage and its associated factors among children age 12-23 months in Ethiopia.

METHODS

This umbrella review included five systematic reviews and meta-analyses through literature search from PubMed, Science direct, and web of science, CINHALE, and data bases specific to systematic reviews such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Prospero, the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews from May 1 to 30/ 2023. Only systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in English from inception to May 1, 2023, were included. The quality of each study was assessed using Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews. Data were extracted using Microsoft excel 2016 and analyzed using STATA 17.0 statistical software. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the Cochran Q statistics and I2 test. The pooled effect sizes were determined using pooled proportion for the full vaccination coverage and odds ratios for the associated factors with the corresponding 95% confidence interval were used to declare statically significance.

RESULTS

Five studies with 77,161 children aged 12-23 months were included. The overall pooled full vaccination coverage was 57.72% (95% CI 50.17, 65.28). Institutional delivery (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.78-2.52), travel to vaccination site for <2 hours (OR: 2.43, 95%CI: 1.97-3.00), received at least one antenatal (ANC) visit (OR: 3.2, 95%CI: 2.46-4.1), good maternal knowledge of immunization (OR: 3.63, 95%CI: 2.82-4.67), being informed on immunization schedule (OR: 2.54, 95%CI: 2.02-3.2), living in urban areas (OR: 2, 95% CI: 1.54-2.6), and a household visit by health-care providers (HCP) during the postnatal period (OR: 2.23, 95%CI: 1.22-4.09) were the independent predictors of immunization coverage.

CONCLUSION

This study showed the full immunization coverage in Ethiopia was lower compared to the WHO-recommended level. Besides, the current umbrella review identifies several factors that contribute to higher immunization coverage. These includes; institutional delivery, near to vaccination site, having ANC visit, being urban residence, household visited by HCP, having good knowledge and informed on immunization schedule. Thus, the government should intensify the growth of immunization services by emphasizing outreach initiatives to reach remote areas and professionals must combine child immunization service with other medical services offered by health institutions.

Effective interventions for improving routine childhood immunisation in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review of systematic reviews

OBJECTIVE

An umbrella review providing a comprehensive synthesis of the interventions that are effective in providing routine immunisation outcomes for children in low and middle-income countries (L&MICs).

DESIGN

A systematic review of systematic reviews, or an umbrella review.

DATA SOURCES

We comprehensively searched 11 academic databases and 23 grey literature sources. The search was adopted from an evidence gap map on routine child immunisation sector in L&MICs, which was done on 5 May 2020. We updated the search in October 2021.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We included systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of any intervention on routine childhood immunisation outcomes in L&MICs.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Search results were screened by two reviewers independently applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted by two researchers independently. The Specialist Unit for Review Evidence checklist was used to assess review quality. A mixed-methods synthesis was employed focusing on meta-analytical and narrative elements to accommodate both the quantitative and qualitative information available from the included reviews.

RESULTS

62 systematic reviews are included in this umbrella review. We find caregiver-oriented interventions have large positive and statistically significant effects, especially those focusing on short-term sensitisation and education campaigns as well as written messages to caregivers. For health system-oriented interventions the evidence base is thin and derived from narrative synthesis suggesting positive effects for home visits, mixed effects for pay-for-performance schemes and inconclusive effects for contracting out services to non-governmental providers. For all other interventions under this category, the evidence is either limited or not available. For community-oriented interventions, a recent high-quality mixed-methods review suggests positive but small effects. Overall, the evidence base is highly heterogenous in terms of scope, intervention types and outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Interventions oriented towards caregivers and communities are effective in improving routine child immunisation outcomes. The evidence base on health system-oriented interventions is scant not allowing us to reach firm conclusions, except for home visits. Large evidence gaps exist and need to be addressed. For example, more high-quality evidence is needed for specific caregiver-oriented interventions (eg, monetary incentives) as well as health system-oriented (eg, health workers and data systems) and community-oriented interventions. We also need to better understand complementarity of different intervention types.

Socioeconomic inequalities in vaccine uptake: A global umbrella review

This global umbrella review aimed to synthesise evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in the uptake of routine vaccinations and identify the mechanisms that may contribute to the association. To our knowledge, no attempt has been made to synthesise the global body of systematic reviews across a variety of vaccines, geographical locations, and measures of SES. The inclusion criteria were as follows: studies assessing vaccination uptake according to education, income, occupation/employment, and/or area-level deprivation; any country or universally recommended routine vaccination (according to the WHO); qualitative or quantitative reviews, published 2011-present. The searches were performed in eight databases. The screening process followed PRISMA-E guidelines, each stage was performed by one reviewer, and a 10% sample checked by a second for consistency. Included reviews underwent data extraction, quality appraisal (AMSTAR-2), and narrative synthesis according to country-context. After deduplication, 9,163 reports underwent title and abstract screening, leaving 119 full texts to be assessed for eligibility. Overall, 26 studies were included in the umbrella review. Evidence for lower uptake amongst disadvantaged SES individuals was found in all 26 reviews. However, 17 reviews showed mixed results, as inverse associations were also identified (lower uptake for advantaged SES, and/or higher uptake for disadvantaged SES). Those that explored high-income countries had a greater prevalence of mixed findings than those focusing on low/middle-income countries. The two most frequently cited mechanisms were vaccination knowledge, and confidence in vaccination or vaccination providers. These mechanisms were often understood by review authors as varying by level of education. We find socioeconomic differences in routine vaccination uptake, but the association did not always follow a gradient. Whilst education may be associated with uptake globally, our study indicates that its role varies by country-context. A limitation is the overlap of some primary studies across the included systematic reviews.

Understanding household-level risk factors for zero dose immunization in 82 low- and middle-income countries

INTRODUCTION

In 2021, an estimated 18 million children did not receive a single dose of routine vaccinations and constitute the population known as zero dose children. There is growing momentum and investment in reaching zero dose children and addressing the gross inequity in the reach of immunization services. To effectively do so, there is an urgent need to characterize more deeply the population of zero dose children and the barriers they face in accessing routine immunization services.

METHODS

We utilized the most recent DHS and MICS data spanning 2011 to 2020 from low, lower-middle, and upper-middle income countries. Zero dose status was defined as children aged 12-23 months who had not received any doses of BCG, DTP-containing, polio, and measles-containing vaccines. We estimated the prevalence of zero-dose children in the entire study sample, by country income level, and by region, and characterized the zero dose population by household-level factors. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine the household-level sociodemographic and health care access factors associated with zero dose immunization status. To pool multicountry data, we adjusted the original survey weights according to the country's population of children 12-23 months of age. To contextualize our findings, we utilized United Nations Population Division birth cohort data to estimate the study population as a proportion of the global and country income group populations.

RESULTS

We included a total of 82 countries in our univariate analyses and 68 countries in our multivariate model. Overall, 7.5% of the study population were zero dose children. More than half (51.9%) of this population was concentrated in African countries. Zero dose children were predominantly situated in rural areas (75.8%) and in households in the lowest two wealth quintiles (62.7%) and were born to mothers who completed fewer than four antenatal care (ANC) visits (66.5%) and had home births (58.5%). Yet, surprisingly, a considerable proportion of zero dose children's mothers did receive appropriate care during pregnancy (33.5% of zero dose children have mothers who received at least 4 ANC visits). When controlled for other factors, children had three times the odds (OR = 3.00, 95% CI: 2.72, 3.30) of being zero dose if their mother had not received any tetanus injections, 2.46 times the odds (95% CI: 2.21, 2.74) of being zero dose if their mother had not received any ANC visits, and had nearly twice the odds (OR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.70, 2.05) of being zero dose if their mother had a home delivery, compared to children of mothers who received at least 2 tetanus injections, received at least 4 ANC visits, and had a facility delivery, respectively.

DISCUSSION

A lack of access to maternal health care was a strong risk factor of zero dose status and highlights important opportunities to improve the quality and integration of maternal and child health programs. Additionally, because a substantial proportion of zero dose children and their mothers do receive appropriate care, approaches to reach zero dose children should incorporate mitigating missed opportunities for vaccination.

Exploring the urban gradient in population health: insights from satellite-derived urbanicity classes across multiple countries and years in sub-Saharan Africa

The demographic, ecological and socioeconomic changes associated with urbanisation are linked to changes in disease incidence, health service provision and mortality. These effects are heterogeneous between and within urban areas, yet without a clear definition of what constitutes an 'urban' area, their measurement and comparison are constrained. The definitions used vary between countries and over time hindering analyses of the relationship between urbanisation and health outcomes, evaluation of policy actions and results in uncertainties in estimated differences. While a binary urban-rural designation fails to capture the complexities of the urban-rural continuum, satellite data augmented with models of population density and built-up areas offer an opportunity to develop an objective, comparable and continuous measure which captures urbanisation gradient at high spatial resolution. We examine the urban gradient within the context of population health. We compare the categorisation of urban and rural areas (defined by national statistical offices) used in household surveys in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to an urban-rural gradient derived from augmented satellite data within a geospatial framework. Using nine Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2005 and 2019 in six SSA countries, we then assess the extent of misalignment between urbanicity based on DHS categorisation compared with a satellite-derived measure, while discussing the implications on the coverage of key maternal health indicators. The proposed indicator provides a useful supplement to country-specific urbanicity definitions and reveals new health dynamics along the rural-urban gradient. Satellite-derived urbanicity measures will need frequent updates to align with years when household surveys are conducted.

Enablers and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake in an urban slum in Lagos, Nigeria: informing vaccine engagement strategies for the marginalized

BACKGROUND

Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a cost-effective mitigation strategy against the pandemic. As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more available, low uptake is now a global threat and understanding the underpinnings in local contexts is a priority for intervention development. We aimed to evaluate behavioural determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance that could inform engagement strategies to improve vaccine uptake in Makoko, an urban slum in Lagos, Nigeria.

METHODS

A population-based case-control study utilized the barrier analysis (BA) approach to evaluate the beliefs and behaviours of 45 'doers' and 45 'non-doers'. The standardized BA tabulation sheet was used to assess differences in the proportions between the two groups to identify significant factors that could be addressed through a behaviour change strategy.

RESULTS

Perceived social norms (family, friend, healthcare workers) that approve the vaccine and expected vaccine protection against diseases among doers were determinants of behaviour. Perceived poor accessibility, safety concerns, lack of trust, low vaccine efficacy and low susceptibility to the infection were the most important determinants of behaviour among non-doers.

CONCLUSIONS

Measures to improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Makoko should include improvement in accessibility and exposing myths and misinformation through clear, concise and evidence-based community education delivered by trusted persons such as healthcare workers and religious leaders.

Coverage survey of typhoid conjugate vaccine among children aged 6 months to 15 years in an urban slum settlement of Lyari Town Karachi, Pakistan

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the coverage rate of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) among children aged 6 months to 15 years in Lyari Town Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate the vaccine coverage of Typbar TCV in Lyari Town Karachi utilizing the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended rapid vaccine coverage assessment technique (30 clusters × 7 households). Sampling was powered at town level and multistage cluster sampling was used. Four union councils were randomly selected from a total of 11 and the survey was conducted in those union councils. After consent was obtained, parents of age-eligible children living in the selected union councils were invited to participate in the survey and information was collected on Typbar TCV vaccination status of children aged 6 months to 15 years.

RESULTS

Overall, 2325 children were included in the survey. The mean age of the participants was 7.60 ± 3.84 years. The ratio of males to females was equal in the survey sample; 1163 (50.02%) were male. In the total target population, 82% children were found to be vaccinated; however, the vaccination status could be verified for 80%. The vaccine coverage of TCV was comparable among the four union councils and the overall coverage of TCV vaccine in Lyari Town was found to be 80%. The coverage was significantly lower in younger children, 5% and 17% among children aged 6 months to < 2 years and 2 years to < 5 years respectively and 78% among children aged 5 years to 15 years.

CONCLUSION

The overall immunization coverage rate with TCV was found to be satisfactory. Immunization coverage was comparable among both sexes and the selected union councils but it was relatively low among children in younger age groups.

Using photovoice methodology to uncover individual-level, health systems, and contextual barriers to uptake of second dose of measles containing vaccine in Western Area Urban, Sierra Leone, 2020

Background

Vaccination coverage for the second dose of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV2) among children has remained stagnant in Sierra Leone at nearly 67% since its introduction in 2015. Identifying community-specific barriers faced by caregivers in accessing MCV2 services for their children and by health workers in delivering MCV2 is key to informing strategies to improve vaccination coverage.

Methods

We used Photovoice, a participatory method using photographs and narratives to understand community barriers to MCV2 uptake from March- September 2020. Six female and five male caregivers of MCV2-eligible children (15-24 months of age), and six health care workers (HCWs) in Freetown, Sierra Leone participated. After having an orientation to photovoice, they photographed barriers related to general immunization and MCV2 uptake in their community. This was followed by facilitated discussions where participants elaborated on the barriers captured in the photos. Transcripts from the six immunization-related discussions were analyzed to deduce themes through open-ended coding. A photo exhibition was held for participants to discuss the barriers and suggested solutions with decision-makers, such as the ministry of health.

Results

We identified and categorized nine themes into three groups: 1) individual or caregiver level barriers (e.g., caregivers' lack of knowledge on MCV2, concerns about vaccine side effects, and gender-related barriers); 2) health system barriers, such as HCWs' focus on children below one year and usage of old child health cards; and 3) contextual barriers, such as poverty, poor infrastructure, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants suggested the decision-makers to enhance community engagement with caregivers and HCW capacity including, increasing accountability of their work using performance-based approaches, among different strategies to improve MCV2 uptake.

Conclusion

Photovoice can provide nuanced understanding of community issues affecting MCV2. As a methodology, it should be integrated in broader intervention planning activities to facilitate the translation of community-suggested strategies into action.

Developing an intervention to improve the quality of childcare centers in resource-poor urban settings: a mixed methods study in Nairobi, Kenya

Background

Globally, 350 million under-5s do not have adequate childcare. This may damage their health and development and undermine societal and economic development. Rapid urbanization is changing patterns of work, social structures, and gender norms. Parents, mainly mothers, work long hours for insecure daily wages. To respond to increasing demand, childcare centers have sprung up in informal settlements. However, there is currently little or no support to ensure they provide safe, nurturing care accessible to low-income families. Here, we present the process of co-designing an intervention, delivered by local government community health teams to improve the quality of childcare centers and ultimately the health and development of under-5 children in informal settlements in Kenya.

Methods

This mixed methods study started with a rapid mapping of the location and basic characteristics of all childcare centers in two informal settlements in Nairobi. Qualitative interviews were conducted with parents and grandparents (n = 44), childcare providers, and community health teams (n = 44). A series of 7 co-design workshops with representatives from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community health teams, and childcare providers were held to design the intervention. Questionnaires to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community health volunteers (n = 22) and childcare center providers (n = 66) were conducted.

Results

In total, 129 childcare centers were identified -55 in Korogocho and 77 in Viwandani. School-based providers dominated in Korogocho (73%) while home-based centers were prevalent in Viwandani (53%). All centers reported minimal support from any organization (19% supported) and this was particularly low among home-based (9%) and center-based (14%) providers. Home-based center providers were the least likely to be trained in early childhood development (20%), hence the co-designed intervention focused on supporting these centers. All co-design stakeholders agreed that with further training, community health volunteers were well placed to support these informal centers. Findings showed that given the context of informal settlements, support for strengthening management within the centers in addition to the core domains of WHO's Nurturing Care Framework was required as a key component of the intervention.

Conclusion

Implementing a co-design process embedded within existing community health systems and drawing on the lived experiences of childcare providers and parents in informal settlements facilitated the development of an intervention with the potential for scalability and sustainability. Such interventions are urgently needed as the number of home-based and small center-based informal childcare centers is growing rapidly to meet the demand; yet, they receive little support to improve quality and are largely unregulated. Childcare providers, and government and community health teams were able to co-design an intervention delivered within current public community health structures to support centers in improving nurturing care. Further research on the effectiveness and sustainability of support to private and informal childcare centers in the context of low-income urban neighborhoods is needed.

Improving Equity in Urban Immunization in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Document Review

INTRODUCTION

As the world continues to urbanize, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, understanding the barriers and effective interventions to improve urban immunization equity is critical to achieving both Immunization Agenda 2030 targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. Approximately 25 million children missed one or more doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) vaccine in 2021 and it is estimated that close to 30% of the world's children missing the first dose of DTP, known as zero-dose, live in urban and peri-urban settings.

METHODS

The aim of this research is to improve understanding of urban immunization equity through a qualitative review of mixed method studies, urban immunization strategies and funding proposals across more than 70 urban areas developed between 2016 and 2020, supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. These research studies and strategies created a body of evidence regarding the barriers to vaccination in urban settings and potential interventions relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a focus on the vaccination of urban poor, populations of concern and residents of informal settlements. Through the document review we identified common challenges to achieving equitable coverage in urban areas and mapped proposed interventions.

RESULTS

We identified 70 documents as part of the review and categorized results across (1) social determinants of health, (2) immunization service-delivery barriers and (3) quality of services. Barriers and solutions identified in the documents were categorized in these thematic areas, drawing information from results in more than 21 countries.

CONCLUSION

Populations of concern such as migrants, refugees, residents of informal settlements and the urban poor face barriers to accessing care which include poor availability and quality of service. Example solutions proposed to these challenges include tailored delivery strategies, improved use of digital data collection and child-friendly services. More research is required on the efficacy of the proposed interventions identified and on gender-specific dynamics in urban poor areas affecting equitable immunization coverage.

A Behavioural-Theory-Based Qualitative Study of the Beliefs and Perceptions of Marginalised Populations towards Community Volunteering to Increase Measles Immunisation Coverage in Sabah, Malaysia

The development of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV) has rendered measles a largely preventable disease. In the state of Sabah in Malaysia, a complete course of measles immunisation for infants involves vaccinations at the ages of six, nine, and twelve months. However, it is difficult for marginalised populations to receive a complete course of measles immunisation. This present study used behavioural theory (BT) to examine the beliefs and perceptions of a marginalised population towards community volunteering as a method of increasing the immunisation coverage of measles. Marginalised populations living in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, more specifically, Malaysian citizens living in urban slums and squatter areas, as well as legal and illegal migrants, were extensively interviewed in person for this qualitative study. The 40 respondents were either the parents or primary caregivers of at least one child under the age of five. The components of the Health Belief Model were then used to examine the collected data. The respondents had poor awareness of the measles disease and perceived the disease as not severe, with some even refusing immunisation. The perceived barriers to receiving vaccinations included a nomadic lifestyle; issues with finances, citizenship status, language, and weather; failing to remember immunisation schedules; a fear of health care personnel; having too many children; and a lack of female autonomy in vaccine decision-making. However, the respondents were receptive towards community-based programmes and many welcomed a recall or reminder system, especially when the volunteers were family members or neighbours who spoke the same language and knew their village well. A few, however, found it awkward to have volunteers assisting them. Evidence-based decision making may increase measles immunisation coverage in marginalised populations. The components of the Health Belief Model validated that the respondents lacked awareness of the measles disease and viewed it and its effects as not severe. Therefore, future volunteer programmes should prioritise increasing the receptivity and self-control of marginalised populations to overcome barriers that hinder community involvement. A community-based volunteer programme is highly recommended to increase measles immunisation coverage.

Barriers and facilitators to type 2 diabetes management among slum-dwellers: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Background and Aims

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is on the rise worldwide, especially in developing countries. There is a significant difference between the slum-dwellers and other urban dwellers in terms of T2D incidence rate and access to healthcare services. This review aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to T2D management among slum-dwellers.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted to identify barriers and facilitators to T2D management from January 1, 2002 to May 30, 2022. We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were: qualitative or mixed-methods research, published in English, focused on slum-dwellers and T2D or its complications, and assessed barriers and facilitators to T2D management among slum-dwellers. Quality appraisal was conducted using the QATSDD critical appraisal tool. A thematic approach was used for data analysis and synthesis.

Results

A total of 17 articles were included in this review. Three analytical themes were identified: (1) Individual factors consisting of four themes: lifestyle behaviors, informational, psychological, and financial factors; (2) Health system factors consisting of three themes: patient education processes, financial protection, and service delivery; and (3) Contextual factors consisting of three themes: family support, social support, and environmental factors.

Conclusion

Our review disclosed that the individual, health system, and context influence T2D management among slum-dwellers. Policymakers can use the findings of this review to reduce barriers and augment facilitators to improve healthcare utilization and self-care management among patients with T2D in slums.

Typhoid Control in an Era of Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Opportunities

Historically, typhoid control has been achieved with water and sanitation interventions. Today, in an era of rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), two World Health Organization-prequalified vaccines are available to accelerate control in the shorter term. Meanwhile, water and sanitation interventions could be implemented in the longer term to sustainably prevent typhoid in low- and middle-income countries. This article first approaches typhoid control from a historical perspective, subsequently presents how vaccination could complement water and sanitation activities, and finally discusses the challenges and opportunities for impactful control of typhoid infection. It also addresses data blind spots and knowledge gaps to focus on for typhoid control and to ultimately progress towards elimination. This article presents a synthesis of discussions held in December 2021 during a roundtable session at the "12th International Conference on Typhoid and Other Invasive Salmonelloses".

"Zero Dose" Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: How Many and Who Are They?

(1) Background: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the countries with the highest number of never vaccinated or "zero-dose" (ZD) children in the world. This study was conducted to examine the proportion of ZD children and associated factors in the DRC. (2) Methods: Child and household data from a provincial-level vaccination coverage survey conducted between November 2021-February 2021 and 2022 were used. ZD was defined as a child aged 12 to 23 months who had not received any dose of pentavalent (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)-Hepatitis B) vaccine (by card or recall). The proportion of ZD children was calculated and associated factors were explored using logistic regression, taking into account the complex sampling approach. (3) Results: The study included 51,054 children. The proportion of ZD children was 19.1% (95%CI: 19.0-19.2%); ZD ranged from 62.4% in Tshopo to 2.4% in Haut Lomami. After adjustment, being ZD was associated with low level of maternal education and having a young mother/guardian (aged ≤ 19 years); religious affiliation (willful failure to disclose religious affiliation as the highest associated factor compared to being Catholic, followed by Muslims, revival/independent church, Kimbanguist, Protestant); proxies for wealth such as not having a telephone or a radio; having to pay for a vaccination card or for another immunization-related service; not being able to name any vaccine-preventable disease. A child's lack of civil registration was also associated with being ZD. (4) Conclusions: In 2021, one in five children aged 12-23 months in DRC had never been vaccinated. The factors associated with being a ZD child suggest inequalities in vaccination that must be further explored to better target appropriate interventions.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance, Attitude and Perception among Slum and Underserved Communities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review summarises the literature on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination, including acceptance, uptake, hesitancy, attitude and perceptions among slum and underserved communities. Relevant studies were searched from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, following a pre-registered protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42022355101) and PRISMA guidelines. We extracted data, used random-effects models to combine the vaccine acceptance, hesitancy and uptake rates categorically, and performed meta-regression by R software (version 4.2.1). Twenty-four studies with 30,323 participants met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence was 58% (95% CI: 49-67%) for vaccine acceptance, 23% (95% CI: 13-39%) for uptake and 29% (95% CI: 18-43%) for hesitancy. Acceptance and uptake were positively associated with various sociodemographic factors, including older age, higher education level, male gender, ethnicity/race (e.g., Whites vs African Americans), more knowledge and a higher level of awareness of vaccines, but some studies reported inconsistent results. Safety and efficacy concerns, low-risk perception, long distance to vaccination centres and unfavourable vaccination schedules were prominent reasons for hesitancy. Moreover, varying levels of attitudes and perceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccination were reported with existing misconceptions and negative beliefs, and these were strong predictors of vaccination. Infodemic management and continuous vaccine education are needed to address existing misconceptions and negative beliefs, and this should target young, less-educated women and ethnic minorities. Considering mobile vaccination units to vaccinate people at home or workplaces would be a useful strategy in addressing access barriers and increasing vaccine uptake.

Evaluation of Container Clinics as an Urban Immunization Strategy: Findings from the First Year of Implementation in Ghana, 2017-2018

BACKGROUND

In 2017, the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Ghana opened two container clinics in Accra, which were cargo containers outfitted to deliver immunizations. At each clinic, we assessed performance and clinic acceptance during the first 12 months of implementation.

METHODS

We employed a descriptive mixed-method design using monthly administrative immunization data, exit interviews with caregivers of children of <5 years (N = 107), focus group discussions (FGDs) with caregivers (n = 6 FGDs) and nurses (n = 2 FGDs), and in-depth interviews (IDIs) with community leaders (n = 3) and health authorities (n = 3).

RESULTS

Monthly administrative data showed that administered vaccine doses increased from 94 during the opening month to 376 in the 12th month across both clinics. Each clinic exceeded its target doses for the 12-23 month population (second dose of measles). Almost all (98%) exit interview participants stated that the clinics made it easier to receive child health services compared to previous health service interactions. The accessibility and acceptability of the container clinics were also supported from health worker and community perspectives.

CONCLUSIONS

Our initial data support container clinics as an acceptable strategy for delivering immunization services in urban populations, at least in the short term. They can be rapidly deployed and designed to serve working mothers in strategic areas.

Achieving the IA2030 Coverage and Equity Goals through a Renewed Focus on Urban Immunization

The 2021 WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) reported approximately 25 million under-vaccinated children in 2021, out of which 18 million were zero-dose children who did not receive even the first dose of a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-(DPT) containing vaccine. The number of zero-dose children increased by six million between 2019, the pre-pandemic year, and 2021. A total of 20 countries with the highest number of zero-dose children and home to over 75% of these children in 2021 were prioritized for this review. Several of these countries have substantial urbanization with accompanying challenges. This review paper summarizes routine immunization backsliding following the COVID-19 pandemic and predictors of coverage and identifies pro-equity strategies in urban and peri-urban settings through a systematic search of the published literature. Two databases, PubMed and Web of Science, were exhaustively searched using search terms and synonyms, resulting in 608 identified peer-reviewed papers. Based on the inclusion criteria, 15 papers were included in the final review. The inclusion criteria included papers published between March 2020 and January 2023 and references to urban settings and COVID-19 in the papers. Several studies clearly documented a backsliding of coverage in urban and peri-urban settings, with some predictors or challenges to optimum coverage as well as some pro-equity strategies deployed or recommended in these studies. This emphasizes the need to focus on context-specific routine immunization catch-up and recovery strategies to suit the peculiarities of urban areas to get countries back on track toward achieving the targets of the IA2030. While more evidence is needed around the impact of the pandemic in urban areas, utilizing tools and platforms created to support advancing the equity agenda is pivotal. We posit that a renewed focus on urban immunization is critical if we are to achieve the IA2030 targets.

Immunization Gender Inequity in Pakistan: An Analysis of 6.2 Million Children Born from 2019 to 2022 and Enrolled in the Sindh Electronic Immunization Registry

Gender-based inequities in immunization impede the universal coverage of childhood vaccines. Leveraging data from the Government of Sindh’s Electronic Immunization Registry (SEIR), we estimated inequalities in immunization for males and females from the 2019–2022 birth cohorts in Pakistan. We computed male-to-female (M:F) and gender inequality ratios (GIR) Tfor enrollment, vaccine coverage, and timeliness. We also explored the inequities by maternal literacy, geographic location, mode of vaccination delivery, and gender of vaccinators. Between 1 January 2019, and 31 December 2022, 6,235,305 children were enrolled in the SEIR, 52.2% males and 47.8% females. We observed a median M:F ratio of 1.03 at enrollment and at Penta-1, Penta-3, and Measles-1 vaccinations, indicating more males were enrolled in the immunization system than females. Once enrolled, a median GIR of 1.00 indicated similar coverage for females and males over time; however, females experienced a delay in their vaccination timeliness. Low maternal education; residing in remote-rural, rural, and slum regions; and receiving vaccines at fixed sites, as compared to outreach, were associated with fewer females being vaccinated, as compared to males. Our findings suggeste the need to tailor and implement gender-sensitive policies and strategies for improving equity in immunization, especially in vulnerable geographies with persistently high inequalities.

Interventions addressing maternal and child health among the urban poor and homeless: an overview of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

Inequalities in access to and utilization of maternal and child health (MCH) care are hampering progress on the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In a number of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) population subgroups at disproportionate risk of being left behind are the urban poor. Within this neglected group is the further neglected group of the homeless. Concomitantly, a number of interventions from the antenatal period onward have been piloted, tested, and scaled in these contexts. We carried out an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) to characterize the evidence around maternal and child health interventions relevant to urban poor homeless populations in LMICs.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Cochrane Library, Health Systems Evidence and EBSCOhost databases for SRs published between January 2009 and 2020 (with an updated search through November 2021). Our population of interest was women or children from urban poor settings in LMICs; interventions and outcomes corresponded with the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidance document. Each SR was assessed by two reviewers using established standard critical appraisal checklists. The overview was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021229107).

RESULTS

In a sample of 33 high quality SRs, we found no direct relevant evidence for pregnant and lactating homeless women (and children) in the reviewed literature. There was a lack of emphasis on evidence related to family planning, safe abortion care, and postpartum care of mothers. There was mixed quality evidence that the range of nutritional interventions had little, unclear or no effect on several child mortality and development outcomes. Interventions related to water, sanitation, and hygiene, ensuring acceptability of community health services and health promotion type programs could be regarded as beneficial, although location seemed to matter. Importantly, the risk of bias reporting in different reviews did not match, suggesting that greater attention to rigour in their conduct is needed.

CONCLUSION

The generalizability of existing systematic reviews to our population of interest was poor. There is a clear need for rigorous primary research on MCH interventions among urban poor, and particularly homeless populations in LMICs, as it is as yet unclear whether the same, augmented, or altogether different interventions would be required.

Comparing Multivariate with Wealth-Based Inequity in Vaccination Coverage in 56 Countries: Toward a Better Measure of Equity in Vaccination Coverage

INTRODUCTION

Following a call from the World Health Organization in 2017 for a methodology to monitor immunization coverage equity in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this study applies the Vaccine Economics Research for Sustainability and Equity (VERSE) vaccination equity toolkit to measure national-level inequity in immunization coverage using a multidimensional ranking procedure and compares this with traditional wealth-quintile based ranking methods for assessing inequity. The analysis covers 56 countries with a most recent Demographic & Health Survey (DHS) between 2010 and 2022. The vaccines examined include Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis-containing vaccine doses 1 through 3 (DTP1-3), polio vaccine doses 1-3 (Polio1-3), the measles-containing vaccine first dose (MCV1), and an indicator for being fully immunized for age with each of these vaccines.

MATERIALS & METHODS

The VERSE equity toolkit is applied to 56 DHS surveys to rank individuals by multiple disadvantages in vaccination coverage, incorporating place of residence (urban/rural), geographic region, maternal education, household wealth, sex of the child, and health insurance coverage. This rank is used to estimate a concentration index and absolute equity coverage gap (AEG) between the top and bottom quintiles, ranked by multiple disadvantages. The multivariate concentration index and AEG are then compared with traditional concentration index and AEG measures, which use household wealth as the sole criterion for ranking individuals and determining quintiles.

RESULTS

We find significant differences between the two sets of measures in almost all settings. For fully-immunized for age status, the inequities captured using the multivariate metric are between 32% and 324% larger than what would be captured examining inequities using traditional metrics. This results in a missed coverage gap of between 1.1 and 46.4 percentage points between the most and least advantaged.

CONCLUSIONS

The VERSE equity toolkit demonstrated that wealth-based inequity measures systematically underestimate the gap between the most and least advantaged in fully-immunized for age coverage, correlated with maternal education, geography, and sex by 1.1-46.4 percentage points, globally. Closing the coverage gap between the bottom and top wealth quintiles is unlikely to eliminate persistent socio-demographic inequities in either coverage or access to vaccines. The results suggest that pro-poor interventions and programs utilizing needs-based targeting, which reflects poverty only, should expand their targeting criteria to include other dimensions to reduce systemic inequalities, holistically. Additionally, a multivariate metric should be considered when setting targets and measuring progress toward reducing inequities in healthcare coverage.

Theory-based immunisation health education intervention in improving child immunisation uptake among antenatal mothers attending federal medical centre in Nigeria: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Childhood immunisation coverage is very low in Nigeria (31%) with Zamfara State being amongst the states with the poorest coverage (<10%). Lack of maternal knowledge, attitude, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, cultural beliefs and assumptions of religious regulations of antenatal mothers towards childhood immunisation are the contributory factors to poor childhood immunisation uptake. This study aims is to develop, implement and evaluate the effects of an immunisation health educational intervention with application of Social Cognitive Theory on pregnant women to improve knowledge, attitude, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, cultural beliefs and assumptions on religious regulations regarding childhood immunization uptake in Federal Medical Centre Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY

The study will be a single-blind parallel-group randomised controlled trial, where baseline data will be collected from 392 estimated antenatal mothers, after that they will be evenly randomised using randomly generated permuted block sizes (each containing two intervention and two control assignments). The study participants will be antenatal mothers of ages 18 years and above who are in third trimesters and attending Federal Medical Centre Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria; during the study period and fulfilled all the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The intervention group will undergo five-health education sessions on immunisation, which will be strictly guided by Social Cognitive Theory-based intervention module: while the control group will receive usual care (standard care). Follow-up data will be collected using the same questionnaire at 6-weeks post-delivery, 10-weeks post-delivery and 14-weeks post-delivery. The generalized linear mixed model will be carried-out to determine the overall effect of the intervention after controlling for 14 potential confounding variables. An intention to treat analysis will also be carried-out. Childhood immunisation uptake is the primary outcome while the secondary outcomes are: improved knowledge scores, attitude scores, outcomes expectation, self-efficacy scores, cultural beliefs scores and assumptions on religious regulations scores.

DISCUSSION

The study will be a randomised controlled trial, that focuses on the effects of an immunisation health educational intervention with application of Social Cognitive Theory on pregnant women to improve knowledge, attitude, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, cultural beliefs and assumptions on religious regulations regarding childhood immunisation uptake in Federal Medical Centre Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Pan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR202006722055635. Protocol registered on 09 June 2020.

COVID-19 vaccination acceptance in underserved urban areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi: results from a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Urban slums are home to a significant number of marginalized individuals and are often excluded from public services. This study explores the determinants of willingness and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in urban slums in Pakistan.

METHODS

The study uses a cross-sectional survey of 1760 respondents from five urban slums in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad carried out between June 16 and 26, 2021. Pairwise means comparison tests and multivariate logistic regressions were applied to check the associations of socio-demographic factors and COVID-19 related factors with willingness to get vaccinated and vaccination uptake.

RESULTS

Only 6% of the sample was fully vaccinated while 16% were partially vaccinated at the time of survey. Willingness to receive vaccination was associated with higher education (aOR: 1.583, CI: 1.031, 2.431), being employed (aOR: 1.916, CI: 1.423, 2.580), prior infection in the family (but not self) (aOR: 1.646, CI: 1.032, 2.625), family vaccination (aOR: 3.065, CI: 2.326, 4.038), knowing of and living close to a vaccination center (aOR: 2.851, CI: 1.646, 4.939), and being worried about COVID-19 (aOR: 2.117, CI: 1.662, 2.695). Vaccine uptake was influenced by the same factors as willingness, except worriedness about COVID-19. Both willingness and vaccination were the lowest in the two informal settlements that are the furthest from public facilities.

CONCLUSIONS

We found low lived experience with COVID-19 infection in urban slums, with moderate willingness to vaccinate and low vaccination uptake. Interventions that seek to vaccinate individuals against COVID-19 must account for urban poor settlement populations and overcome structural barriers such as distance from vaccination services, perhaps by bringing such services to these communities.

Community engagement to increase vaccine uptake: Quasi-experimental evidence from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Developing countries have been facing difficulties in reaching out to low-income and underserved communities for COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The rapidity of vaccine development caused a mistrust among certain subgroups of the population, and hence innovative approaches were taken to reach out to such populations. Using a sample of 1760 respondents in five low-income, informal localities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, we evaluated a set of interventions involving community engagement by addressing demand and access barriers. We used multi-level mixed effects models to estimate average treatment effects across treatment areas. We found that our interventions increased COVID-19 vaccine willingness in two treatment areas that are furthest from city centers by 7.6% and 6.6% respectively, while vaccine uptake increased in one of the treatment areas by 17.1%, compared to the control area. Our results suggest that personalized information campaigns such as community mobilization help to increase COVID-19 vaccine willingness. Increasing uptake however, requires improving access to the vaccination services. Both information and access may be different for various communities and therefore a "one-size-fits-all" approach may need to be better localized. Such underserved and marginalized communities are better served if vaccination efforts are contextualized.

Improving early childhood development in the context of the nurturing care framework in Kenya: A policy review and qualitative exploration of emerging issues with policy makers

Introduction

The Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) describes "nurturing care" as the ability of nations and communities to support caregivers and provide an environment that ensures children's good health and nutrition, protects them from threats, and provides opportunities for early learning through responsive and emotionally supportive interaction. We assessed the extent to which Kenyan government policies address the components of the NCF and explored policy/decision makers' views on policy gaps and emerging issues.

Methods

A search strategy was formulated to identify policy documents focusing on early childhood development (ECD), health and nutrition, responsive caregiving, opportunities for early learning and security and safety, which are key components of the NCF. We limited the search to policy documents published since 2010 when the Kenya constitution was promulgated and ECD functions devolved to county governments. Policy/decision-maker interviews were also conducted to clarify emerging gaps from policy data. Data was extracted, coded and analyzed based on the components of the NCF. Framework analysis was used for interview data with NCF being the main framework of analysis. The Jaccard's similarity coefficient was used to assess similarities between the themes being compared to further understand the challenges, successes and future plans of policy and implementation under each of the NCF domains.

Results

127 policy documents were retrieved from government e-repository and county websites. Of these, n = 91 were assessed against the inclusion criteria, and n = 66 were included in final analysis. The 66 documents included 47 County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) and 19 national policy documents. Twenty policy/decision-maker interviews were conducted. Analysis of both policy and interview data reveal that, while areas of health and nutrition have been considered in policies and county level plans (coefficients >0.5), the domains of early learning, responsive caregiving and safety and security face significant policy and implementation gaps (coefficients ≤ 0.5), particularly for the 0-3 year age group. Inconsistencies were noted between county level implementation plans and national policies in areas such as support for children with disabilities and allocation of budget to early learning and nutrition domains.

Conclusion

Findings indicate a strong focus on nutrition and health with limited coverage of responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning domains. Therefore, if nurturing care goals are to be achieved in Kenya, policies are needed to support current gaps identified with urgent need for policies of minimum standards that provide support for improvements across all Nurturing Care Framework domains.

Improving timeliness and completion of infant vaccination among infants in Nigerian urban slums through older women's participation

Nigerian urban slums have a high population of infants with suboptimal vaccination despite previous interventions. Older women traditionally play supervisory roles in infant care in Nigeria but their influence is untapped in infant vaccination. This study sought to determine if training of older women (≥35 years) in urban slum communities in Ibadan, South west Nigeria, and involving them in infant vaccination will improve infant vaccination timeliness and completion. This was a randomized experimental community study and pregnant women in their third trimester, residing in seven urban slum communities were randomized using their antenatal clinics (ANCs) into intervention (six ANCs) and control groups (six ANCs). The older women who will supervise the care of the infants of pregnant women in the intervention group had seven sessions of training on the importance of infant vaccination timeliness and completion. The vaccinations of the infants from both groups were compared from birth till 9 months. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi square test at α = 0.05. There were 96 older women, 198 pregnant women (105 in intervention group and 93 controls) and 202 infants (109 in intervention group and 93 controls). Infants in the intervention group (67.9%) significantly had both timely and complete vaccinations compared with those in the control group (36.6%). Vaccines given at birth were the least timely in both groups. More infants whose older women caregiver were married had timely and complete vaccinations. Also, a higher proportion of male infants, low birth weight babies and infants with older women caregiver with at most two children had timely and completed vaccinations but these were not statistically significant. Training of older women caregivers improved infant vaccination timeliness and completion in these urban slum communities. This model may improve infant vaccination in other similar urban slum settings.

Socioeconomic Inequalities and Vaccine Uptake: An Umbrella Review Protocol

The effectiveness of immunization is widely accepted: it can successfully improve health outcomes by reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. In the era of pandemics, there is a pressing need to identify and understand the factors associated with vaccine uptake amongst different socioeconomic groups. The knowledge generated from research in this area can be used to inform effective interventions aimed at increasing uptake. This umbrella systematic review aims to determine whether there is an association between socioeconomic inequalities and rate of vaccine uptake globally. Specifically, the study aims to determine whether an individual's socioeconomic status, level of education, occupation, (un)-employment, or place of residence affects the uptake rate of routine vaccines. The following databases will be searched from 2011 to the present day: Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane CENTRAL, Science Citation Index (Web of Science), DARE, SCOPUS (Elsevier), and ASSIA (ProQuest). Systematic reviews will be either included or excluded based on a priori established eligibility criteria. The relevant data will then be extracted, quality appraised, and narratively synthesised. The synthesis will be guided by the theoretical framework developed for this review. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Equity extension (PRISMA-E) guidance will be followed. This protocol has been registered on PROSPERO, ID: CRD42022334223.

Coverage and Drivers to Reaching the Last Child With Vaccination in Urban Settings: A Mixed-Methods Study in Kampala, Uganda

BACKGROUND

Limited evidence exists regarding the drivers of vaccination coverage and equity in Kampala city, despite frequent measles outbreaks, inequities in vaccination coverage, and the decline in vaccination coverage rates. This study was designed to determine vaccine coverage among children aged 12-36 months and to understand its demand-side drivers.

METHODS

We utilized a mixed-methods parallel convergent study design. A household survey was conducted to quantify the drivers of vaccine coverage among households with children aged 12-36 months. We employed a multistage sampling approach to select households, using a primary sampling unit of an enumeration area. We conducted 30 key informant interviews, 7 focus group discussions, and 6 in-depth interviews with representatives from the immunization program, health workers, and parents residing in areas with low vaccine coverage.

RESULTS

Of the 590 enrolled children, 340 (57.6%) were partially vaccinated, 244 (41.4%) were fully vaccinated and had received all the recommended vaccinations, and 6 (1.0%) had never received any vaccine. Of the 244 with all recommended vaccinations, only 65 (26.6%) received their vaccines on time. Access to vaccination services was high (first dose of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus [DPT1] coverage of 96%), but utilization decreased over time, as shown by a dropout rate of 17.3% from the first to third dose of DPT. The main driver of complete vaccination was the parents' appreciation of the benefits of vaccination. Among partially vaccinated children, the barriers to vaccination were inadequate information about vaccination (its benefits and schedule), vaccine stock-outs, long waiting times to receive vaccination services, and hidden vaccination costs.

CONCLUSION

Vaccination needs to be targeted to all children irrespective of whether they reside in slum areas or nonslum areas, as most are under-vaccinated. Social mobilization and communication efforts should be tailored to the complexities of urban settings characterized by transient and diverse populations with different cultures.

Perceptions of childhood vaccination practices among beneficiaries and healthcare service providers in slums under the national immunization program of India: a qualitative study

Purpose

A qualitative study can help in understanding the unpolluted perspectives of key stakeholders involved in the vaccination practices and can explore vital factors that could influence vaccination-related behaviors and their utilization. This study aims to document the perceptions of caretakers, community members and healthcare service providers related to childhood vaccination practices in slums under the national immunization program (NIP) of India.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a qualitative community-based cross-sectional study. Focus group discussions with caretakers, community members and healthcare service providers were used to build a holistic, detailed description and analysis of the factors associated with childhood vaccination practices within its real-world context.

Findings

Lack of awareness, fear of adverse events following immunization, inappropriate timing of vaccination sessions, loss of daily earnings, migration, lack of good behavior of health staffs, shortage of logistics and vaccines, limited resources and infrastructures and high expectations of beneficiaries were some of the vital barriers impacting vaccination practices in slums.

Research limitations/implications

Though this study provides significant good information on the indicators that can be considered to improve the vaccination practices in any slum settings, it has is also a limitations too due to its setting. Therefore, one needs to be cautious while generalizing these results to other settings like rural. In addition, Though we believe that these strategies could be useful in any setting, it is also important to tailor these observations them as per the need of the society and the population. Also, this is a self-reported qualitative study and therefore the perspectives reported in this study need to be taken with caution. Further, low vaccination, poor awareness, compromised healthcare services, high expectations could be considered as a stigma/fear among the responders and therefore there is always a chance of underreporting. Thus, it would be important in future to conduct a study involving a broader group of people in society and to establish factors associated with the vaccination coverage. that can help in improvement of vaccination.

Originality/value

Initiatives such as regular interactions at different levels, effective communication including reminders, behavior interventions, the continued supply of vaccines and logistics, additional resources for the vaccination program, incentives and recognition, extended sessions and people-friendly healthcare delivery system could be helpful to strengthen the routine vaccination practices in slums.

Factors associated with accessing and utilisation of healthcare and provision of health services for residents of slums in low and middle-income countries: a scoping review of recent literature

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors associated with accessing and utilisation of healthcare and provision of health services in slums.

DESIGN

A scoping review incorporating a conceptual framework for configuring reported factors.

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were searched from their inception to December 2021 using slum-related terms.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Empirical studies of all designs reporting relevant factors in slums in low and middle-income countries.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Studies were categorised and data were charted according to a preliminary conceptual framework refined by emerging findings. Results were tabulated and narratively summarised.

RESULTS

Of the 15 469 records retrieved from all years, 4368 records dated between 2016 and 2021 were screened by two independent reviewers and 111 studies were included. The majority (63 studies, 57%) were conducted in Asia, predominantly in India. In total, 104 studies examined healthcare access and utilisation from slum residents' perspective while only 10 studies explored provision of health services from providers/planners' perspective (three studies included both). A multitude of factors are associated with accessing, using and providing healthcare in slums, including recent migration to slums; knowledge, perception and past experience of illness, healthcare needs and health services; financial constraint and competing priorities between health and making a living; lacking social support; unfavourable physical environment and locality; sociocultural expectations and stigma; lack of official recognition; and existing problems in the health system.

CONCLUSION

The scoping review identified a significant body of recent literature reporting factors associated with accessing, utilisation and provision of healthcare services in slums. We classified the diverse factors under seven broad categories. The findings can inform a holistic approach to improving health services in slums by tackling barriers at different levels, taking into account local context and geospatial features of individual slums. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: https://osf.io/694t2.

Understanding the Socio-Economic Vulnerability in Child Malnutrition Between Migrants and Non-Migrants Children (12-59 Months) in India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study

India has witnessed increasing trends in internal migration over the last three decades. In India, migrant children are not a homogeneous group and their reasons for movement and vulnerabilities vary across socio-economic stratum. For some children, migration may open possibilities and is associated with expanding social and economic spheres, but for many others, it may bring serious risks. Therefore, the study has been carried out to understand socio-economic vulnerability in child nutrition with migration status and other contributing factors in India. This study used data from the National Family Health Survey, the fourth in the NFHS series which was conducted in 2015-2016 (NFHS-4). We were interested in looking at the children age 12-59 months for their nutritional indicators such as stunting and underweight across migrants and non-migrants children. This resulted in a sample of 199,448 children in selected age group and among them 33.1% children belongs to the migrant family as compared to 67% of non-migrant children. Overall, 44.2% of children were stunted and 39.5% were underweight among non-migrant children as compared to 37.4% & 32.8% of migrant children were stunted and underweight respectively. Further, the results showed that among the social groups, scheduled caste children were found a high variation in underweight (34% vs. 41.6%) and stunting (36% vs. 46%) between migrants and non-migrants children. Similar trend of malnourishment is found in the poor wealth quintile, for rural residents and low educated women with non-migrant status. Those children who were poor but non-migrant were more likely to be malnourished as underweight [aOR; 1.15, CI: 1.11-1.18] and stunted [aOR; 1.17, CI:1.13-1.20] as compared to migrant status children in the same category of the household. Similarly in reference to scheduled caste migrant group, the scheduled caste non-migrant were more likely to be underweight [aOR; 1.15, CI: 1.09-1.20] and stunted [aOR; 1.18, CI: 1.12-1.23] than the children with migrant status. There were huge differences between migrant and non-migrant children in nutritional statuses. Education, caste and wealth index are found to be an important variables to explain the differential between migrants and non-migrants in child's nutritional aspects. Children associated with poor socio-economic vulnerability and non-migrant category need to be taken care of more and a community targeted approach is required to understand the gaps. The programs such as ICDS, and Poshan Abhiyan need to be revamped adding the migration aspect of the families and children in terms of their health and nutritional aspects.

An analysis of the gender and social determinants of health in urban poor areas of the most populated cities of Pakistan

Background

Recent surveys, studies and reviews in urban areas of Pakistan have highlighted the impacts of social inequities on access of women and children to health services for women and children in Pakistan.

Objectives

The Urban Slum Profiles and coverage surveys were conducted between 2017 and 2019. The objective of the profiles was to obtain an updated listing of slums and other underserved areas, and to better understand current vaccination and health service coverage in these areas. Utilising findings from these studies, this paper aims to better understand the gender and social determinants of health that are giving rise to health inequalities in the slums.

Methods

The Urban Slum Profiles adopted a mixed methods approach combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study was comprised of two main survey approaches of Urban Slum Profiles and Immunisation Coverage Survey in 4431 urban poor areas of the 10 most highly populated cities of Pakistan.

Results

Findings are classified into six analytic categories of (1) access to health services, (2) female workforce participation, (3) gender-friendly health services, (4) access to schools and literacy, (5) social connections, and (6) autonomy of decision making. Out of a national sample of 14,531 children in urban poor areas of 10 cities, the studies found that just over half of the children are fully immunised (54%) and 14% of children had received zero doses of vaccine. There are large shortages of health facilities and female health workforce in the slums, with significant gaps in the quality of health infrastructure, which all serve to limit both demand for, and supply of, health services for women and children. Results demonstrate low availability of schools, low levels of female literacy and autonomy over decision making, limited knowledge of the benefits of vaccination, and few social connections outside the home. All these factors interact and reinforce existing gender norms and low levels of health literacy and service access.

Conclusion

The Urban Slum profiles and coverage studies provide an opportunity to introduce gender transformative strategies that include expansion of a female health workforce, development of costed urban health action plans, and an enabling policy environment to support community organisation and more equitable health service delivery access.

How well are Indonesia's urban poor being provided access to quality reproductive health services?

Accommodating the needs of Indonesia’s rapidly growing urban population is essential to reaching national reproductive health goals and international commitments. As in other rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income countries, satisfying the needs of Indonesia’s urban poor is both a high priority and a significant challenge. In this study, we assessed both how being from urban poor or near-poor households affects the quantity and quality of family planning and maternal health services received and the extent to which differentials had narrowed during the 2012–2017 period. This time interval is significant due to the introduction of a national social health insurance scheme in 2014, establishing the foundation for universal health care in the country. Data from the 2012 and 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Surveys were analyzed using logistic and multinomial logit regression. Poverty status was measured in terms of urban household wealth quintiles. For family planning, although urban poor and near-poor women made different method choices than non-poor women, no substantial 2017 differences in contraceptive prevalence, unmet need for family planning or informed choice were observed. However, urban poor women and to a lesser extent near-poor women systematically lagged non-poor urban women in both the quantity and quality of maternal health services received in connection with recent pregnancies. Significant maternal health service gains were observed for all urban women during the study reference period, with gains for poor and near poor urban women exceeding those for non-poor on several indicators. While the deployment of pro-poor interventions such as the national social health insurance scheme is likely to have contributed to these results, evidence suggesting that the scheme may not be influencing consumer health-seeking behaviors as had been anticipated along with continued limitations in public health sector supply-side readiness resulting in service quality issues suggest that more will have to be done.

Analyzing Temporal Trends of Urban Evaporation Using Generalized Additive Models

This study aimed to gain new insights into urban hydrological balance (in particular, the evaporation from paved surfaces). Hourly evaporation data were obtained simultaneously from two high-resolution weighable lysimeters. These lysimeters are covered in two pavement sealing types commonly used for sidewalks in Berlin, namely cobble-stones and concrete slabs. A paired experiment in field conditions is designed to determine the mechanism by which these two types of soil sealing affect the evaporation rate under the same climatic conditions. A generalized additive model (GAM) is applied to explain how the climatic conditions interact with soil sealing and to evaluate the variation of evaporation rate according to pavement type. Moreover, taking the advantage of the fact that the experimental design is paired, the study fits a new GAM where the response variable is the difference between the evaporation rate from the two lysimeters and its explanatory variables are the climatic conditions. As a result, under the same climatic conditions, cobble-stones are more prone to increasing the evaporation rate than concrete slabs when the precipitation accumulated over 10 h, solar radiation, and wind speed increases. On the other hand, concrete slabs are more inclined to increase the evaporation rate than cobblestones when the relative humidity increases. GAM represents a robust modeling approach for comparing different sealing types in order to understand how they alter the hydrological balance.

Primary care doctor and nurse consultations among people who live in slums: a retrospective, cross-sectional survey in four countries

OBJECTIVES

To survey on the availability and use of primary care services in slum populations.

DESIGN

Retrospective, cross-sectional, household, individual and healthcare provider surveys.

SETTING

Seven slum sites in four countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh).

PARTICIPANTS

Residents of slums and informal settlements.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary care consultation rates by type of provider and facility.

RESULTS

We completed 7692 household, 7451 individual adult and 2633 individual child surveys across seven sites. The majority of consultations were to doctors/nurses (in clinics or hospitals) and pharmacies rather than single-handed providers or traditional healers. Consultation rates with a doctor or nurse varied from 0.2 to 1.5 visits per person-year, which was higher than visit rates to any other type of provider in all sites except Bangladesh, where pharmacies predominated. Approximately half the doctor/nurse visits were in hospital outpatient departments and most of the remainder were to clinics. Over 90% of visits across all sites were for acute symptoms rather than chronic disease. Median travel times were between 15 and 45 min and the median cost per visit was between 2% and 10% of a household's monthly total expenditure. Medicines comprised most of the cost. More respondents reported proximity (54%-78%) and service quality (31%-95%) being a reason for choosing a provider than fees (23%-43%). Demand was relatively inelastic with respect to both price of consultation and travel time.

CONCLUSIONS

People in slums tend to live sufficiently close to formal doctor/nurse facilities for their health-seeking behaviour to be influenced by preference for provider type over distance and cost. However, costs, especially for medicines are high in relation to income and use rates remain significantly below those of high-income countries.

Coverage and factors associated with receiving campaign polio vaccines in an urban population in Guinea-Bissau

BACKGROUND

Polio eradication campaigns are intended to complement routine immunization. Studies addressing factors associated with campaign coverage are warranted to identify children missed by campaigns.

METHODS

Bandim Health Project runs demographic surveillance with registration of routine immunization and campaign participation data in urban Guinea-Bissau. We assessed coverage and factors associated with receiving campaign polio vaccines in children aged 0-35 months in two polio eradication campaigns conducted in 2017 and 2018 using univariate and multivariate regression models.

RESULTS

Campaign coverage reached 84% in 2017 and 88% in 2018. We found lower coverage among children of young and not formally educated mothers in univariate analyses; Children <9 months and Fula children had lower campaign coverage in both univariate and multivariate analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

To increase campaign coverage in urban Guinea-Bissau attention may be directed at informing young mothers, mothers of young children, mothers without formal education, and the Fula ethnic group about campaigns.

Parent-level barriers to uptake of childhood vaccination: a global overview of systematic reviews

INTRODUCTION

Understanding barriers to childhood vaccination is crucial to inform effective interventions for maximising uptake. Published systematic reviews include different primary studies, producing varying lists of barriers. To make sense of this diverse body of literature, a comprehensive level of summary and synthesis is necessary. This overview of systematic reviews maps all potential parent-level barriers to childhood vaccination identified in systematic reviews. It synthesises these into a conceptual framework to inform development of a vaccine barriers assessment tool.

METHODS

We applied Joanna Briggs methodology, searching the Epistemonikos review database and reference lists of included reviews to June 2020. Systematic reviews of qualitative or quantitative data on parent-level barriers to routine vaccination in preschool-aged children were included. Reviews addressing influenza, reporting non-modifiable determinants or reporting barriers not relevant to parents were excluded. Where possible, we extracted review details, barrier descriptions and the number, setting and design of primary studies. Two authors independently screened search results and inductively coded barrier descriptions.

RESULTS

We screened 464 papers, identifying 30 relevant reviews with minimal overlap. Fourteen reviews included qualitative and quantitative primary studies, seven included quantitative and seven included qualitative studies only. Two did not report included study designs. Two-thirds of reviews (n=20; 67%) only included primary studies from high-income countries. We extracted 573 barrier descriptions and inductively coded these into 64 unique barriers in six overarching categories: (1) Access, (2) Clinic or Health System Barriers, (3) Concerns and Beliefs, (4) Health Perceptions and Experiences, (5) Knowledge and Information and (6) Social or Family Influence.

CONCLUSIONS

A global overview of systematic reviews of parent-level barriers to childhood vaccine uptake identified 64 barriers to inform development of a new comprehensive survey instrument. This instrument will assess both access and acceptance barriers to more accurately diagnose the reasons for under-vaccination in children in different settings.

Reducing burden from respiratory infections in refugees and immigrants: a systematic review of interventions in OECD, EU, EEA and EU-applicant countries

BACKGROUND

Respiratory diseases are a major reason for refugees and other immigrants seeking health care in countries of arrival. The burden of respiratory diseases in refugees is exacerbated by sometimes poor living conditions characterised by crowding in mass accommodations and basic living portals. The lack of synthesised evidence and guideline-relevant information to reduce morbidity and mortality from respiratory infections endangers this population.

METHODS

A systematic review of all controlled and observational studies assessing interventions targeting the treatment, diagnosis and management of respiratory infections in refugees and immigrants in OECD, EU, EEA and EU-applicant countries published between 2000 and 2019 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PSYNDEX and the Web of Science.

RESULTS

Nine of 5779 identified unique records met our eligibility criteria. Seven studies reported an increase in vaccine coverage from 2 to 52% after educational multilingual interventions for respiratory-related childhood diseases (4 studies) and for influenza (5 studies). There was limited evidence in one study that hand sanitiser reduced rates of upper respiratory infections and when provided together with face masks also the rates of influenza-like-illness in a hard to reach migrant neighbourhood. In outbreak situations of vaccine-preventable diseases, secondary cases and outbreak hazards were reduced by general vaccination strategies early after arrival but not by serological testing after exposure (1 study). We identified evidence gaps regarding interventions assessing housing standards, reducing burden of bacterial pneumonia and implementation of operational standards in refugee care and reception centres.

CONCLUSIONS

Multilingual health literacy interventions should be considered to increase uptake of vaccinations in refugees and immigrants. Immediate vaccinations upon arrival at refugee housings may reduce secondary infections and outbreaks. Well-designed controlled studies on housing and operational standards in refugee and immigrant populations early after arrival as well as adequate ways to gain informed consent for early vaccinations in mass housings is required to inform guidelines.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy-A Scoping Review of Literature in High-Income Countries

Vaccine hesitancy forms a critical barrier to the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine in high-income countries or regions. This review aims to summarize rates of COVID-19 hesitancy and its determinants in high-income countries or regions. A scoping review was conducted in Medline^®, Embase^®, CINAHL^®, and Scopus^® and was reported in accordance with the PRISMA-SCr checklist. The search was current as of March 2021. Studies which evaluated COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its determinants in high-income countries (US$12,536 or more GNI per capita in 2019) were included. Studies conducted in low, lower-middle, and upper-middle income countries or regions were excluded. Factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were grouped into four themes (vaccine specific, individual, group, or contextual related factors). Of 2237 articles retrieved, 97 articles were included in this review. Most studies were conducted in U.S. (n = 39) and Italy (n = 9). The rates of vaccine hesitancy across high-income countries or regions ranged from 7-77.9%. 46 studies (47.4%) had rates of 30% and more. Younger age, females, not being of white ethnicity and lower education were common contextual factors associated with increased vaccine hesitancy. Lack of recent history of influenza vaccination, lower self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19, lesser fear of COVID-19, believing that COVID-19 is not severe and not having chronic medical conditions were most frequently studied individual/group factors associated with increased vaccine hesitancy. Common vaccine-specific factors associated with increased vaccine hesitancy included beliefs that vaccine are not safe/effective and increased concerns about rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines. Given the heterogeneity in vaccine hesitancy definitions used across studies, there is a need for standardization in its assessment. This review has summarized COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy determinants that national policymakers can use when formulating health policies related to COVID-19 vaccination.

Unveiling and addressing implementation barriers to routine immunization in the peri-urban slums of Karachi, Pakistan: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Great disparities in immunization coverage exist in Pakistan between urban and rural areas. However, coverage estimates for large peri-urban slums in Sindh are largely unknown and implementation challenges remain unexplored. This study explores key supply- and demand-side immunization barriers in peri-urban slums, as well as strategies to address them. It also assesses immunization coverage in the target slums.

METHODS

Conducted in four peri-urban slums in Karachi, this mixed-methods study consists of a baseline cross-sectional coverage survey of a representative sample of 840 caregivers of children aged 12-23 months, and 155 in-depth interviews (IDIs) through purposive sampling of respondents (caregivers, community influencers and immunization staff). After identifying the barriers, a further six IDIs were then conducted with immunization policy-makers and policy influencers to determine strategies to address these barriers, resulting in the development of an original validated implementation framework for immunization in peri-urban slums. A thematic analysis approach was applied to qualitative data.

RESULTS

The survey revealed 49% of children were fully vaccinated, 43% were partially vaccinated and 8% were unvaccinated. Demand-side immunization barriers included household barriers, lack of knowledge and awareness, misconceptions and fears regarding vaccines and social and religious barriers. Supply-side barriers included underperformance of staff, inefficient utilization of funds, unreliable immunization and household data and interference of polio campaigns with immunization. The implementation framework's policy recommendations to address these barriers include: (1) improved human resource management; (2) staff training on counselling; (3) re-allocation of funds towards incentives, outreach, salaries and infrastructure; (4) a digital platform integrating birth registry and vaccination tracking systems for monitoring and reporting by frontline staff; (5) use of digital platform for immunization targets and generating dose reminders; and (6) mutual sharing of resources and data between the immunization, Lady Health Worker and polio programmes for improved coverage.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation framework is underpinned by the study of uncharted immunization barriers in complex peri-urban slums, and can be used by implementers in Pakistan and other developing countries to improve immunization programmes in limited-resource settings, with possible application at a larger scale. In particular, a digital platform integrating vaccination tracking and birth registry data can be expanded for nationwide use.

The influence of linkages, feedback mechanisms, and caregiver mobility on immunization follow-up visits in Lideta sub-city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a qualitative study

Background

Losing children to follow-up is one of the major barriers identified in Ethiopia’s immunization programme. In many urban slum areas like Lideta sub-city, Addis Ababa, several demand- and supply-side factors affect the follow-up visits for routine immunization services, so this study aimed to explore the influence of linkages, a feedback mechanism, and caregiver mobility on immunization follow-up visits.

Methods

The study team employed a qualitative method and conducted 30 in-depth interviews with caregivers, 26 interviews with key informants, and five focus group discussions with health officials and decision-makers. A deductive content and thematic analysis was carried out by importing the transcripts into OpenCodes, applying the a priori codes, and identifying new codes and themes.

Results

The linkages among health facilities included those from hospitals to health centres, from hospitals to hospitals, and from health centres to health centres within and outside the sub-city. Using these linkages, most vaccinators transfer caregivers without providing multi-dose vial (MDV) vaccines, mainly bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) and measles-containing vaccines (MCV), “to minimize wastage” and thus successfully reduce vaccine wastage rates; yet most caregivers wasted their time, energy, and money travelling from one health facility to another. Despite some efforts to transfer caregivers using “transferal slips” and informal phone calls to vaccinators’ friends, unfortunately, there was no formally established system for obtaining feedback about the arrival of caregivers and continuation of the follow-up visits. Overall, the transfer process lacked uniformity, used various approaches, and was not systematic.

Conclusions

Transferal of caregivers for the sake of minimizing wastage of MDV vaccines without checking the vaccination schedules of the receiving health facilities, using various informal types of tools and approaches, along with a poor follow-up and feedback system, were major identified challenges which cost caregivers extra money, energy, and time in getting timely immunization services. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Health should strengthen the linkages among facilities, ensure the establishment of formal communications by developing guidelines and standardized tools – transferal slips and approaches – and initiate a fast feedback provision system using SMS text messages.

Factors influencing childhood immunisation uptake in Africa: a systematic review

Background

Vaccine preventable diseases are still the most common cause of childhood mortality, with an estimated 3 million deaths every year, mainly in Africa and Asia. An estimate of 29% deaths among children aged 1–59 months were due to vaccine preventable diseases. Despite the benefits of childhood immunisation, routine vaccination coverage for all recommended Expanded Programme on Immunization vaccines has remained poor in some African countries, such as Nigeria (31%), Ethiopia (43%), Uganda (55%) and Ghana (57%). The aim of this study is to collate evidence on the factors that influence childhood immunisation uptake in Africa, as well as to provide evidence for future researchers in developing, implementing and evaluating intervention among African populations which will improve childhood immunisation uptake.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of articles on the factors influencing under-five childhood immunisation uptake in Africa. This was achieved by using various keywords and searching multiple databases (Medline, PubMed, CINAHL and Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection) dating back from inception to 2020.

Results

Out of 18,708 recorded citations retrieved, 10,396 titles were filtered and 324 titles remained. These 324 abstracts were screened leading to 51 included studies. Statistically significant factors found to influence childhood immunisation uptake were classified into modifiable and non-modifiable factors and were further categorised into different groups based on relevance. The modifiable factors include obstetric factors, maternal knowledge, maternal attitude, self-efficacy and maternal outcome expectation, whereas non-modifiable factors were sociodemographic factors of parent and child, logistic and administration factors.

Conclusion

Different factors were found to influence under-five childhood immunisation uptake among parents in Africa. Immunisation health education intervention among pregnant women, focusing on the significant findings from this systematic review, would hopefully improve childhood immunisation uptake in African countries with poor coverage rates.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11466-5.

Which public health interventions are effective in reducing morbidity, mortality and health inequalities from infectious diseases amongst children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): An umbrella review

Despite significant progress in the last few decades, infectious diseases remain a major threat to child health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—particularly amongst more disadvantaged groups. It is imperative to understand the best available evidence concerning which public health interventions reduce morbidity, mortality and health inequalities in children aged under five years. To address this gap, we carried out an umbrella review (a systematic reviews of reviews) to identify evidence on the effects of public health interventions (promotion, protection, prevention) on morbidity, mortality and/or health inequalities due to infectious diseases amongst children in LMICs. Ten databases were searched for records published between 2014–2021 alongside a manual search of gray literature. Articles were quality-assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews tool (AMSTAR 2). A narrative synthesis was conducted. We identified 60 systematic reviews synthesizing 453 individual primary studies. A majority of the reviews reported on preventive interventions (n = 48), with a minority on promotion (n = 17) and almost no reviews covering health protection interventions (n = 2). Effective interventions for improving child health across the whole population, as well as the most disadvantaged included communication, education and social mobilization for specific preventive services or tools, such as immunization or bed nets. For all other interventions, the effects were either unclear, unknown or detrimental, either at the overall population level or regarding health inequalities. We found few reviews reporting health inequalities information and the quality of the evidence base was generally low. Our umbrella review identified some prevention interventions that might be useful in reducing under five mortality from infectious diseases in LMICs, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged groups.

Access, demand, and utilization of childhood immunization services: A cross-sectional household survey in Western Area Urban district, Sierra Leone, 2019

Background

Urban childhood immunization programs face unique challenges in access, utilization, and demand due to frequent population movement between and within localities, sprawling informal settlements, and population heterogeneity. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey in the Western Area Urban district, Sierra Leone, stratified by slums and non-slums as defined by the United Nations Development Program.

Methods

Based on data from child vaccination cards, weighted vaccination coverage was estimated from 450 children aged 12-36 months (household response rate = 83%). Interviews with 444 caregivers identified factors related to accessing routine immunization services. Factors associated with coverage in bivariate analyses were examined in multivariate models using backward stepwise procedure.

Results

Coverage was similar in slums and non-slums for 3-doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-hepatitis B-Haemophilus influenzae type b (pentavalent) vaccine (86%, 92%) and second dose of measles vaccine (33%, 29%). In a multivariate logistic regression model, incomplete pentavalent vaccine coverage was associated with being second or later birth order (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 4.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4-14.9), a household member not approving of childhood vaccinations (aOR = 7.55, 95% CI = 1.52-37.38), self-reported delay of child receiving recommended vaccinations (aOR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.0-22.1), and living in a household made of natural or rudimentary materials (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.2-10.6). Overall, the majority (>70%) of caregivers reported occupation as petty trader and <50% reported receiving vaccination information via preferred communication sources.

Conclusions

Although vaccination coverage in slums was similar to non-slums, study findings support the need for targeted interventions to improve coverage, especially for the second dose of measles vaccine to avoid large scale measles outbreaks. Strategies should focus on educating household members via preferred communication channels regarding the importance of receiving childhood vaccinations on time for all offspring, not just the first born. Vaccination coverage could be further improved by increasing accessibility through innovative strategies such as increasing the number of vaccination days and modifying hours.

The trends of socioeconomic inequities in full vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months from 2000 to 2017: evidence for mitigating disparities in vaccination service in Zhejiang province

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the trends and changes in inequities in the completeness of the primary vaccination (CPV) scheduled before the first year of age among children aged 12-23 months, from 2000 to 2017. Methods: Data were extracted from five rounds of the provincial vaccination coverage survey (PVCS) in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2017, respectively. The household income per month was used as an index of socioeconomic status for the inequity analysis. The concentration index (CI) was used to quantify the degree of inequity, and the decomposition approach was applied to quantify the contributions from independent factors to inequity in the CPV. Results: The CPV was significantly improved from 2000 to 2017, with 67.0% for the 2000 PVCS and 86.0% for the 2017 PCVS. The CI value decreased from 0.29839 for the 2000 round to 0.03601 for the 2017 round. The decomposition analysis indicated that independent variables such as birth order, ethnic group, mother's education, maternal employment status, residence, immigration status and the percentage of the total health spending allocated to public health could explain the inequity in the CPV in varying degrees. Conclusions: A sharp reduction in socioeconomic inequity in the CPV was observed from 2000 to 2017. Policy recommendations to reduce the inequality in the CPV should focus on children with the risk factors found in this study, for better outcome in full vaccination and long-lasting herd immunity.