Extending vaccination opportunities, involving community members and providing financial incentives in vaccine communication are among the most effective strategies to increase vaccination uptake, according to new international research published in The BMJ.
The study
The analysis reviewed 237 randomised controlled trials across higher and upper middle income countries, covering more than 4.3 million participants.
Researchers examined how specific intervention components influenced uptake across all vaccines on the UK schedule and across different age groups.
“The results show that for children’s vaccination, offering payments to cover costs (e.g., travel costs) and decision aids were beneficial, while extended vaccination opportunities and information about social factors (e.g., acting for the benefit of society) might also increase uptake,” said the BMJ Group in a recently released statement.
“For adolescents and young adults, beneficial effects were shown for personal delivery formats (e.g., calls, texts, emails), delivery by community members alongside healthcare professionals, and social factors. There was evidence of a negative effect of decision aids and some evidence of a negative effect of human versus non-human interaction.
“For adults, human interaction, extended vaccination opportunities, appointment scheduling help, payments to cover costs, and motivational interviewing to encourage uptake were beneficial. Financial incentives and information on vaccine safety and effectiveness showed some evidence of benefit, whereas non-human interaction showed a negative effect relative to no interaction.
“In underserved communities that often face social, economic, and geographic barriers to care, extended vaccination opportunities, financial incentives, and reminders increased vaccination uptake. The effectiveness of certain components may also have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Targeted interventions needed
The researchers say the findings are important for designing, optimising, and implementing targeted interventions to increase vaccine uptake, as they highlight the most effective components across different populations and contexts.
They suggest integrating these findings with local-level data to guide the implementation of effective intervention combinations, and say that consideration of cost and cost-effectiveness data “will further inform decision making around which interventions to implement given limited resources”.
