SMS Mobile Technology to Improve Early Childhood Vaccine Coverage in Guatemala

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This project plans to learn more about whether sending text messages to parents on their mobile phones to remind them when their child is due for his or her next vaccination will improve children getting vaccinated on time.

Detailed Description
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This project plans to learn more about whether sending text messages to parents on their mobile phones to remind them when their child is due for his or her next vaccination will improve children getting vaccinated on time. The vaccines that will be given are the same routine vaccinations registered in Guatemala and used by the Ministry of Health regardless of enrollment in the study.

Official Title
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SMS Mobile Technology to Improve Early Childhood Vaccine Coverage in Guatemala

Conditions
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Adherence to Vaccination Schedules, Timeliness of Vaccination, Acceptability of SMS Reminder Program

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: SMS message
* Other: Usual care


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: First dose of primary vaccination series Parents owning a mobile phone and able to decipher SMS messages Consent form signed Exclusion Criteria: Moving away from the study site in the next 12 months Ineligible for primary vaccination series by the MOH

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 6 Weeks
Maximum Age: 6 Months

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Short Message Service (SMS) group<br>Receiving SMS message reminders 1 week before scheduled vaccination | Behavioral: SMS message<br>* SMS messages will be delivered at 6, 4, and 2 days before the next scheduled date of the primary vaccines for the intervention group<br>* Other names: text messages;|
| Placebo Comparator: Usual care<br>Not receiving SMS messages | Other: Usual care<br>* Health clinic nurse provides regular appointment in the vaccination card with no active reminders<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Completion of vaccine primary series | Completion of 2nd and 3rd dose of vaccines by 1 year of age | 12 months of age | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Factors associated with immunization delays | Demographic, education and behavioral factors associated with days late for vaccination | 12 months | 
| Acceptability of SMS vaccine reminders | Qualitative data from focus groups to evaluate acceptability of SMS program | 12 months | 
| Timeliness of immunization | Days delayed from date for 2nd and 3rd dose of vaccination | 12 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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vaccines, reminders, immunization timeliness, vaccine coverage