Peer-reviewed article
SMS-based interventions for improving child and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness: a systematic review
Grace Currie, Charlie McLeod, Claire S. Waddington, Tom Snelling ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined whether sending SMS text messages to parents can improve childhood vaccination rates and timeliness. Researchers found 30 randomised trials, mostly from high-income countries, and concluded that SMS reminders do help increase vaccine coverage and on-time vaccination, with better results when messages included health education or financial incentives. The review notes substantial variation between studies and calls for future research to identify which specific message features work best.
Key points
- 30 randomised trials were identified and analysed
- Most trials were conducted in high-income countries
- SMS-based interventions showed small to moderate improvements in vaccine coverage and timeliness
- SMS reminders combined with education or monetary incentives performed better than simple reminders in some settings
- Marked heterogeneity between studies was noted
Limitations
This review includes only high-income country settings predominantly, limiting generalisability to low- and middle-income contexts where immunisation challenges differ. The review cannot specify which exact message features, timing, or content are most effective across different populations and health systems.
Abstract
Abstract Background The aim of this review was to investigate the impact of short message service (SMS)-based interventions on childhood vaccine coverage and timeliness.Methods A pre-defined search strategy was used to identify all relevant publications up until July 2022 from electronic databases. Reports of randomised trials written in English and involving children less than 18 years old were included. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.Results Thirty randomised trials were identified. Most trials were conducted in high-income countries. There was marked heterogeneity between studies. SMS-based interventions were associated with small to moderate improvements in vaccine coverage and timeliness compared to no SMS reminder. Reminders with embedded education or which were combined with monetary incentives performed better than simple reminders in some settings.Conclusion Some SMS-based interventions appear effective for improving child vaccine coverage and timeliness in some settings. Future studies should focus on identifying which features of SMS-based strategies, including the message content and timing, are determinants of effectiveness.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- SMS-based reminder messages to parents, with variations including embedded health education or combined with monetary incentives
- Population
- Children and adolescents under 18 years old; parents or guardians receiving messages
Key finding
SMS-based interventions were associated with small to moderate improvements in vaccine coverage compared to no SMS reminder