ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Globally, over 20 million children are unvaccinated and over 25 million missed their follow-up doses during the COVID-19 pandemic; thus, they face vaccine-preventable diseases and unnecessary deaths. This is especially the case for those with HIV or living in vulnerable settings. Using cell phones to send reminders to parents has been shown to improve vaccination rates. OBJECTIVE: We aim to determine whether implementation of an automated SMS reminder will improve child vaccination rates in a turbulent, semiurban/semirural setting in a low-income country. METHODS: This will be a nonrandomized controlled trial that will be conducted at Azire Integrated Health Centre, Bamenda, Cameroon. RESULTS: A total of 200 parents per study group (aged over 18 years) who are registered at the clinic at least one month prior to the study will be recruited. The intervention group will receive 2 reminders: 1 week and 2 days prior to the scheduled vaccination. For those who miss their appointments, a reminder will be sent 1 week after their missed appointment. The control group will receive the regular care provided at the clinic. Baseline information, clinical visit data, and vaccination records will be collected for both groups. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize baseline characteristics between and within clusters and groups. The Fisher exact test will be used to compare parent-child units who return for follow-up visits (as a percentage) and children vaccinated as scheduled (as a percentage) between the study groups. Finally, we will compare how many members of both study groups return for 1 follow-up visit using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Due to limited effective child vaccination interventions in unstable settings, this study will be of high importance for suggesting a holistic approach to improve child vaccination and public health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/47018.
ABSTRACT
Background: Health needs assessment (HNA) is essential for allocation of limited resources to the most prioritized problems. HNA in work places has gained increasing importance. Kaveh industrial city is the largest and oldest industrial city in Iran, with a wide range of different industries, making it an exemplary industrial city in Iran. This study was done to conduct health needs assessment of workers in Kaveh industrial city. Methods: In this study, intensive HNA approach and qualitative method were used. In-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted to collect information related to health risk factors, and Delphi method was used to prioritize these risk factors. A total of 74 key informants participated in this study, which constituted more than 80% of the total related experts of Kaveh industrial city. Results: The main identified health challenge was inefficiency of the existing Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) control and monitoring system. The most important physical health risk factors were smoking and obesity and the most prioritized psychosocial risk factors were stress and lack of appropriate management and organizational culture. Ergonomic issues and noise pollution were the prioritized work environmental factors and inappropriate placement of pollutant industries in the industrial city was the most prioritized bioenvironmental risk factor. Unsafe road to industrial zone and poor safety devices used by workers were the most prioritized occupational injuries risk factors. Conclusion: Addressing the identified health needs of workers in Kaveh industrial city is of high importance. Also, redefining the HSE control and monitoring system should be prioritized.
