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.

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.

Researching the hard-to-reach: a scoping review protocol of digital health research in hidden, marginal and excluded populations.

INTRODUCTION: There is a significant growth in the use of digital technology and methods in health-related research, further driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has offered a potential to apply digital health research in hidden, marginalised and excluded populations who are traditionally not easily reached due to economic, societal and legal barriers. To better inform future digital health studies of these vulnerable populations, we proposed a scoping review to comprehensively map published evidence and guidelines on the applications and challenges of digital health research methods to hard-to-reach communities. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This review will follow the Arksey and O' Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews. The framework for the review will employ updated methods developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute including the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis Scoping Review checklist. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and Greenfile are the identified databases for peer-reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies in-scope of the review. Grey literature focused on guidance and best practice in digital health research, and hard-to-reach populations will also be searched following published protocols. The review will focus on literature published between 1 February 2012 and 1 February 2022. Two reviewers are engaged in the review. After screening the title and abstract to determine the eligibility of each article, a thorough full-text review of eligible articles will be conducted using a data extraction framework. Key extracted information will be mapped in tabular and visualised summaries to categorise the breadth of literature and identify key digital methods, including their limitations and potential, for use in hard-to-reach populations. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This scoping review does not require ethical approval. The results of the scoping review will consist of peer-reviewed publications, presentations and knowledge mobilisation activities including a lay summary posted via social media channels and production of a policy brief.

Promoting equity in immunization coverage through supply chain design in Pakistan.

To improve equity in immunization coverage, potent immunization products must be available in the communities in which low coverage rates persist. Most supply side investments are focused on replacing or establishing new health facilities to improve access to immunization. However, supply chain design must be improved to ensure that potent vaccines are available at all facilities to promote immunization equity. We used the supply chain design process in Pakistan as an opportunity to conceptualize how supply chains could impact equity outcomes. This paper outlines our approach and key considerations for assessing supply chain design as a contributing factor in achieving equitable delivery of immunization services. We conducted a supply chain analysis based on sub-national supply chain and immunization coverage at district level. Supply chain metrics included cold chain coverage and distances between vaccination sites and storage locations. Immunization coverage metrics included the third-dose diphtheria- tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccination rate and the disparity in DTP3 coverage between urban and rural areas. All metrics were analyzed at the district level. Despite data limitations, triangulation across these metrics provided useful insights into the potential contributions of supply chain to equitable program performance at the district level within each province. Overall, our analysis identified supply chain gaps, highlighted supply chain contributions to program performance and informed future health system investments to prioritize children unreached by immunization services.

Overcoming Obstacles To Enable Access To Medicines For Noncommunicable Diseases In Poor Countries.

The modern access-to-medicines movement grew largely out of the civil-society reaction to the HIV/AIDS pandemic three decades ago. While the movement was successful with regard to HIV/AIDS medications, the increasingly urgent challenge to address access to medicines for noncommunicable diseases has lagged behind-and, in some cases, has been forgotten. In this article we first ask what causes the access gap with respect to lifesaving essential noncommunicable disease medicines and then what can be done to close the gap. Using the example of the push for access to antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS patients for comparison, we highlight the problems of inadequate global financing and procurement for noncommunicable disease medications, intellectual property barriers and concerns raised by the pharmaceutical industry, and challenges to building stronger civil-society organizations and a patient and humanitarian response from the bottom up to demand treatment. We provide targeted policy recommendations, specific to the public sector, the private sector, and civil society, with the goal of improving access to noncommunicable disease medications globally.