Testing a Biometric Identification System to Improve Malaria Vaccine Completion
About This Trial
Receiving all four doses of the malaria vaccine can significantly protect children against malaria illness, hospitalization, and death. However, in Ghana, only 46% of children complete the full vaccination sequence. More broadly, many children in Ghana do not receive the full set of recommended pediatric vaccinations. To address this, Simprints, in collaboration with Ghana Health Services, will implement a digital vaccination record system linked to biometrics. This system will automatically identify children who are behind on their vaccination schedule, providing health workers with information to prioritize community outreach. Additionally, it will send voice message reminders to caregivers to improve compliance. A cluster-randomized controlled trial (c-RCT) will be conducted in the Oti region to measure the impact of this innovation on the proportion of children completing malaria and routine vaccination schedules.
Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)
Original Eligibility Criteria
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Treatments Being Tested
HEALTH FACILITY INTERVENTION
Health facilities randomized in treatment clusters will be provided with a digital vaccination record system (e-tracker) linked to biometrics (facial recognition) of caregivers (if child is below 6 months) or of children (if child is above 6 months). With the support of Ghana Health Services, Simprints will train CHWs on digital vaccination record system (e-tracker) and biometrics. Simprints will also provide Technical Assistance to CHWs for the duration of the study.
INDIVIDUAL INTERVENTION
Caregivers (if child is below 6 months) or children (if child is above 6 months) living in communities in the catchment areas of health facilities randomized in treatment clusters will be registered at the community level into the e-tracker and biometrics (facial recognition), and caregivers of children who are due for or missed vaccination will receive voice message appointment reminders if they provided a phone number during the registration in biometrics. Reminders will be sent before a child is due a visit to receive vaccination, as well as after a child missed his due visit.