ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2017
Using Mobile Phones to Improve Vaccination Uptake in 21 Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- SMS-based interventions for improving child and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of mHealth interventions on maternal, newborn, and child health from conception to 24 months postpartum in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of mHealth on childhood vaccination in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Acceptability of mobile-phone reminders for routine childhood vaccination appointments in Nigeria - a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Smartphone-Based Interventions on Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- mHealth communication to strengthen postnatal care in rural areas: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2019Pooled it
- Patient-Centered eHealth Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- Does exposure to health information through mobile phones increase immunisation knowledge, completeness and timeliness in rural India?BMJ global health · 2021Trial
- Effect of vaccine reminder and tracker bracelets on routine childhood immunization coverage and timeliness in urban Pakistan (2017-18): a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2020Trial
- Using mobile phone Re-call notification as a primary care practice to improve vaccination uptake for children under five in baghdad, Iraq, 2022.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- A Pilot mHealth Text Messaging Program Targeting Parents During the First 2000 Days: Nonrandomized Repeat Cross-Sectional Analysis to Evaluate Feasibility, Engagement, Acceptability, and Potential Effectiveness.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of an electronic immunization registry in urban Bangladesh.PloS one · 2026Article
- Community engagement for vaccine delivery in low- and middle-income countries and humanitarian settings: A scoping umbrella review.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Digital access, transportation, and women's empowerment in breast cancer screening uptake among Cambodian women: Analysis of the Cambodia demographic and health survey 2021-2022.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Integrating Digital Health Innovations to Achieve Universal Health Coverage: Promoting Health Outcomes and Quality Through Global Public Health Equity.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Mobile health interventions on vaccination coverage among children under 5 years of age in Low and Middle-Income countries; a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Spatial variation and predictors of incomplete pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) uptake among children aged 12-35 months in Ethiopia: spatial and multilevel analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe benefits of vaccination have been comprehensively proven; however, disparities in coverage persist because of poor health system management, limited resources, and parental knowledge and attitudes. Evidence suggests that health interventions that engage local parties in communication strategies improve vaccination uptake. As mobile technology is widely used to improve health communication, mobile health (mHealth) interventions might be used to increase coverage.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on the use of mHealth to improve vaccination in low- and middle-income countries with large numbers of unvaccinated children.
methodsIn February 2017, MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Scopus, and Web of Science, as well as three health organization websites-Communication Initiative Network, TechNet-21, and PATH-were searched to identify mHealth intervention studies on vaccination uptake in 21 countries.
resultsTen peer-reviewed studies and 11 studies from white or gray literature were included. Nine took place in India, three in Pakistan, two each in Malawi and Nigeria, and one each in Bangladesh, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Ten peer-reviewed studies and 7 white or gray studies demonstrated improved vaccination uptake after interventions, including appointment reminders, mobile phone apps, and prerecorded messages.
conclusionsAlthough the potential for mHealth interventions to improve vaccination coverage seems clear, the evidence for such interventions is not. The dearth of studies in countries facing the greatest barriers to immunization impedes the prospects for evidence-based policy and practice in these settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.