Written By Hawa Kombian
In November 2016 we announced the launch of a Child Immunization Initiative in Sierra Leone - an Electronic Vaccination Record and Tracking Project, also known as VaxTrac. The goal of this initiative was to implement an electronic registry for children’s immunizations in order to provide timely and quality data for decision making.
The Immunization Dashboard shows the client's immunization history and upcoming immunization dates. Photo credit: Bryan Gastonguay
Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eHealth Africa (eHA) implemented the project in collaboration with VaxTrac, Africell, and the Child Health Division at the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS). The pilot phase ran from November 2016 to June 2017.
The VaxTrac project has been a thriving success in the Western Area Urban District of Freetown. eHA has led the training of over 110 MoHS health officials and workers from 50 health facilities to conduct electronic registration for children receiving vaccinations via the VaxTrac app. The patient profiles are generated and linked using biometric indicators (i.e. fingerprint scans) from their caregivers or via a QR code sticker on their traditional vaccination cards. Each child’s demographic and vaccination details (i.e. type of vaccine and date of administration) are collected via the VaxTrac mobile app and synced to the VaxTrac monitor analysis system, which the MoHS can access.
“VaxTrac has helped us give accurate return dates [for immunization follow-up] to our patients. ”
— Trained, Freetown Health Care Worker (HCW)
In addition to storing immunization information in a secure and accessible platform, VaxTrac includes features which support the health system proactively addressing child immunizations. The system has a “call-back” feature which tracks follow-up vaccination timelines and calls caregivers with reminder messages encouraging them to bring children back in for their next round of immunization. This friendly and automated reminder helps ensure that vaccine coverage is as high as possible. It further provides a simple and reliable mechanism for healthcare workers to conduct routine follow-ups.
Ultimately, the MoHS will be able to utilize compiled VaxTrac data to make more strategic and informed vaccination decisions via the VaxTrac monitor dashboard which runs data analysis and produces reports.
Following the success of the pilot where over 20,000 patients were registered, the completed end-of-pilot evaluation will provide information on necessary software upgrades to ensure that the app remains user-friendly and is streamlined for data collection and analysis. The project partners plan to expand VaxTrac to the 20 remaining health facilities for 100% coverage within the Western Urban Area District. This activity will include greater engagement of MoHS staff in the process of training health care workers to use the VaxTrac app, monitoring its usage and effectiveness throughout health facilities, and analyzing the data collected for a clearer understanding of immunization trends across the district.
eHA establishes new standards in health delivery through the integration of information, technology, and operations. This supports our mission to improve the quality of healthcare for underserved populations across Africa. To join our team or find out more about the work we do, kindly visit our website.