The Drum Beat 346 - Immunisation and Vaccine Resources

***

This issue of The Drum Beat identifies just a few of the immunisation and vaccine resources that are summarised on The Communication Initiative website. We have included here some resources to assist communities and health workers in understanding vaccines and vaccinations, such as journals and articles that identify key research and lessons learned on communication aspects of providing immunisations and implementing vaccine delivery, training guides and tools for communicators working with communities on immunisation issues, and advocacy and promotional materials to support future campaigns.

Please also see the Polio Site for more resources in support of your work.

UNDERSTANDING VACCINES AND VACCINATION

1.Understanding AIDS Vaccines: An Anthology of Primers from VAX

This edition of the IAVI (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) Report contains an anthology of AIDS vaccine primers from the monthly VAX bulletin. It is designed for those new to AIDS vaccines or looking for a source for education and outreach. This anthology, according to the publishers, aims to "deepen and broaden your grasp of key concepts, from immunology to vaccine manufacturing to the clinical trials process."

2.Introduction to DPT-Hepatitis B Vaccine, Information for Healthcare Workers

by Siri Wood, Heidi Lasher & Scott Wittet

This document contains two booklets that provide information about the DPT-Hepatitis B Vaccine. One booklet is for health workers; the other is intended for community leaders.

3.AIDS Vaccine Handbook: Global Perspectives

Published by The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), this handbook is designed to educate communities about the importance of HIV vaccine research. The handbook is a collection of essays written by people involved in research and advocacy from around the globe. It provides an overview of the key scientific, policy, social, ethical and economic challenges, as well as the diverse experience gained around the world over the past two decades. Free copies are available to community organisations.

4.Plain Talk About Childhood Immunizations

Designed by organisations in the state of Washington, USA, this 52-page booklet offers parents information on the risks and benefits of childhood immunisations.

5.Vaccines and Your Baby [video & booklet]

by P.A. Offit, MD

This is a 28-minute video that explains the basics about vaccines. It helps teach parents about vaccines and how they work, the science behind them, and the 11 diseases they prevent.

6.Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know

by P.A. Offit, MD, & Louis M. Bell, MD

This book is designed for parents who seek information about vaccines. It answers the following questions, and more: Aren't most of these diseases eliminated anyway?
Should my child have the new chicken pox vaccine? Could my baby get a bad batch of the vaccine and end up getting infected?

7.Vaccinations: What Parents Need to Know

by Kathleen Meister, M.S.

This 24-page report, from the American Council of Science and Health (ACSH), is based on a document written for ACSH by Dr. David R. Smith (President of the Texas Tech Medical Center). It summarises evidence on both the benefits and the potential risks of vaccines, with an emphasis on the vaccines used in routine childhood immunisation.

8.Six Common Misconceptions about Vaccination and How to Respond to Them

This booklet features six misconceptions that often appear in publications that question the value of vaccination - along with explanations of why they are misconceptions.

9.Parents Guide to Childhood Immunization

From the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in the United States, this 94-page booklet provides parents with an introduction to 12 childhood diseases as well as the vaccines that can protect children from them. It is available in both English and Spanish.

***

Please participate in our PULSE POLL

Do you agree or disagree?

The ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, use a Condom) approach has been a disaster in Africa.

[For context, please see The Drum Beat #345]

***

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

10.IAVI Report

This is a print newsletter on international AIDS vaccine research published bi-monthly by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). The Report features articles focusing on scientific and technical aspects of vaccine research and development, as well as social science issues, conference reports, and interviews with leaders in the field.

11.When Every Child Counts: Engaging the Underserved Communities for Polio Eradication in Uttar Pradesh, India

This UNICEF working paper describes the use of strategic communication to increase polio immunisation rates in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, with a particular focus on Muslim boys under 2 years of age. The campaign follows a jump in polio cases from 2000 to 2002. In UP in 2002, 80% of the cases were in children under 2, mostly boys and mostly Muslim. While UP is only 20% Muslim, 68% of polio cases occurred among Muslim children. This paper describes how the involvement of Aligarh Mulsim University (AMU) has lent credibility to the vaccination drive among Muslims. Outreach services, in the form of local clinics and "health camps," have provided community members with convenient and trusted sources of health care and vaccinations.

12.Vaccinate Women

Produced by the Immunization Action Coalition, this newsletter is written for obstetricians, gynaecologists (OB/GYNs), and others who provide health care to women.

13.Communication for Immunization Workshops [CD-ROM]

In June 2003, regional workshops in Istanbul, Johannesburg and Bangkok focused on key issues in communication for immunisation. The workshops addressed such issues as communication for immunisation safety, advocacy for financial sustainability, social mobilisation, communication planning, communication to improve district-level coverage, facing the media, communication strategies developed to respond to adverse events following immunisations (AEFIs) and to build public trust in immunisation, and immunisation of hard-to-reach groups, among others. This CD-ROM draws together key presentations, discussions, tools, topics and recommendations from these workshops.

14.VAX

This monthly bulletin, published by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), features brief, non-technical versions of articles on vaccine research from the IAVI Report. IAVI intends for this vaccine trial information to be: used as a tool by public health workers to engage volunteers; referenced by policymakers; and cited by journalists when writing articles on vaccine issues. VAX is translated into French, German, Spanish and Portuguese and is used and distributed by IAVI's non-government organisation (NGO) partners in the relevant countries.

15.Mass Measles Immunization Campaigns: Reporting and Investigating Adverse Events Following Immunization - Draft Guidelines, 2002 revision

This set of guidelines is intended to prescribe appropriate procedures for surveillance of and response to adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) during mass measles campaigns. The report begins with a short summary of measles-related AEFI, and introduces a 5-category classification scheme for events: vaccine reactions, programme errors (the most common source of AEFI during campaigns), coincidental reactions, injection reactions, and unknown events. The article discusses each of these causes of reaction and strategies for the prevention and treatment of cases, focusing on programmatic errors and ways to prevent and address them.

16.AIDS Vaccine Literacy Resource Center

This is an online collection of information, education and communication (IEC) resources pertaining to AIDS vaccines. The Resource Center was developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and includes resources gathered from organisations and institutions around the world who are involved in AIDS vaccine research and advocacy. Most items are specific to AIDS vaccines, but several are general resources.

17.Sustaining EPI: What Can Communication Do?

by Mark Rasmuson

This 17-page document explores the role of communication in immunisation programmes, examines ways in which communication interventions can strengthen Expanded Programmes on Immunisation (EPI) (including consumer issues and service issues), and offers recommendations for EPI managers and donors.

18.Vaccine

by R.E. Spier

This journal about vaccines and vaccination serves as an interface between academics, researchers and practitioners. Topics range from basic research to applications, safety and legislation.

***

Please visit The CI's Polio Site...

...providing you with the most recently updated information related to polio on The Communication Initiative website!

Click here to access the site.

***

TRAINING

19.Immunizing Children Against Hepatitis B - A Training Module

by Siri Wood, Heidi Lasher & Scott Wittet

This training module was designed to be adaptable for specific national programmes. Its purpose is to educate vaccinators about hepatitis B disease and to train vaccinators in the safe and proper use of hepatitis B vaccine. The primary audiences for this module are health workers who regularly give childhood vaccinations, and their supervisors. The training module takes between 2 hours and one full day to present.

20.Immunization Essentials: A Practical Field Guide

A revision of an earlier publication (EPI Essentials, 1998), this USAID manual has been written for immunisation programme managers at national and sub-national levels in developing countries and for people who support these managers, particularly field staff of donor agencies. The intention is to provide information that is practical as well as technically and operationally sound. For readers who would like to explore topics in greater depth, additional references are provided.

21.Training Vaccinators in a Time of Change

Published in the October 2001 issue of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Immunization Focus Newsletter, the article addresses questions about staff training for immunisation programmes. Why have training activities been neglected? Why is training often afforded insufficient staff allocation, resources, and time?

22.Advanced Immunization Management (AIM) e-Learning Tool

The objective of this online tool (also available as a CD-ROM) is to enhance the global community's ability to address priority issues by guiding health managers who are trying to improve immunisation programmes in developing countries. AIM e-Learning modules intend to provide up-to-date information to immunisation managers using interactive learning techniques.

23.Communication for Polio Eradication and Routine Immunisation Checklists and Easy Reference Guides

This document includes 19 checklists and reference guides that the BASICS and CHANGE projects prepared in August 2000 on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These checklists and guides cover communication and mobilisation aspects of routine immunisation and disease surveillance, in addition to supplementary immunisation for polio eradication.

***

Advertise your conferences, training events and seminars through the DB Classifieds.

Click here or contact Jennifer Savidge at jsavidge@comminit.com for more information.

***

ADVOCACY

24.Strengthening Immunization Programs: The Communication Component

by Lora Shimp

Published by the Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival Project (BASICS II) for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this document describes and endorses the use of communication for immunisation programmes. The paper is intended to serve as a tool for programme planning and management.

25.National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) Kits

In order to help promote the United States' National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), the National Partnership for Immunization (NPI) has produced a set of informational and promotional materials, including brochures, stickers, bookmarks and a poster.

26.Case for Childhood Immunization

In this advocacy document from 2002, The Children's Vaccine Program (CVP) looks at the past 50 years of vaccines and immunisations. They examine the lack of vaccines in resource-poor countries and the lack of initiative in fully developed countries - both which can lead to childhood illness, death, and resurgences of old diseases once considered fully eradicated.

27.Vaccines: Handled with Care

Published by UNICEF in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), this colourfully illustrated brochure is designed for use by developing country communities to explain the many steps undertaken by UNICEF, WHO and their partners to ensure reliable supplies of quality vaccines.

28.Advocacy for Immunization: How to Generate and Maintain Support for Vaccination Programs

This is a step-by-step guide to advocacy for immunisation. It covers preparation (building a plan, gathering information, creating messages and materials), outreach (building a coalition, engaging policymakers, working with the media, involving the public) and monitoring and evaluating. It includes a brief section of further sources of information (manuals, guides and websites) as well as examples and case studies.

***

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.


Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com


To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see our policy.


To subscribe, click here.