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Ahmed ST, Haider SS, Hanif S, Anwar HB, Mehjabeen S, Closser S, Bazant E, Sarker M. A scoping review on integrated health campaigns for immunization in low- and middle-income countries. Health Policy Plan 2023; 38:1198-1224. [PMID: 37699072 PMCID: PMC10752386 DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czad082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Health campaign integration is a key implementation strategy outlined by the World Health Organization to achieve universal health coverage. This scoping review synthesizes the evidence on Integrated Health Campaigns (IHC) in the field of immunization in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) regarding the most common strategies, facilitators and barriers. Four reviewers followed a systematic approach to identify, screen and analyse relevant articles. The team used three search engines (PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar) to identify peer-reviewed journal articles as well as select institutional websites for grey literature publications. Full-text articles using any study design and across any time frame were included. Data were extracted following a predefined matrix, analysed deductively and presented in a narrative synthesis. Thirty articles (20 academic and 10 grey) were included in the final review. All studies included identified IHCs as effective when planning or implementation is integrated. The common strategies were: using resources efficiently in remote locations; using national immunization days to maximize impact; targeting specific age groups by selecting intervention sites that are frequented by that age group; building community ownership over the integrated program; and integrating programs that already share common elements. The key facilitators were: closing the gap between services and communities; planning, coordination and resource management both before and during integration; cost-effectiveness; and utilization of pre-existing infrastructure. The common barriers included seemingly optimized initial cost to appear feasible only in the short term and additional responsibilities on the field staff. This review finds IHCs a common practice in immunization and identifies gaps in evidence on evaluation; indicating the need for additional research. Strong evidence accounts IHCs to increase coverage, improve community acceptance of health services and strengthen the community models of health service delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syeda Tahmina Ahmed
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
| | - Shams Shabab Haider
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
| | - Suhi Hanif
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
| | - Humayra Binte Anwar
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
| | - Saima Mehjabeen
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
| | - Svea Closser
- John Hopkins University, Bultimore, Maryland 21218, US
| | - Eva Bazant
- The Task Force for Global Health, 330 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, GA 30030, US
| | - Malabika Sarker
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, 6th Floor, Medona Tower, 28 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Bir Uttom A K Khandakar Road, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
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