Background: Communication between healthcare providers and individuals and communities is a key factor affecting childhood vaccination uptake worldwide. Effective communication is critical to successful, sustainable vaccination programmes. However, there is limited evidence specific to low income settings (LISs) to guide programme managers in implementing communication interventions. The ‘Communicate to vaccinate’ (COMMVAC 2) project aims to build research evidence on the effects of communication with parents and communities to improve childhood vaccination uptake in LISs.
Objectives: To synthesise evidence on health system barriers and facilitators to scaling up vaccination communication interventions in three countries where the COMMVAC 2 project is being implemented: Cameroon, Mozambique and Nigeria.
Methods: We will identify eligible documents through searches of relevant electronic databases; consultation with the COMMVAC 2 partners, experts and key agencies, such as the World Health Organization; and through internet searching. We will include documents that focus on factors affecting the scale-up of childhood vaccination communication in the study countries. Data from these documents will be combined with data from key informant interviews in each country. Framework synthesis will be used to understand how health system factors affect the implementation of vaccination communication interventions at scale.
Results: Data collection in countries and consultation with experts is underway. Database searching has been completed and screening is underway on 146 full text documents covering Nigeria (n = 98), Cameroon (n = 20), Mozambique (n = 15) and a range of countries (n = 13). Preliminary results will be presented during the Cochrane Colloquium.
Conclusions: Understanding the factors associated with the effective implementation at scale of communication interventions for childhood vaccination will inform the selection and adaptation of interventions to improve vaccination coverage.