Short Message Service Reminder Nudge for Parents and Influenza Vaccination Uptake in Children and Adolescents With Special Risk Medical Conditions
- Journal:
- JAMA Pediatrics
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6145
- Affiliations:
- 14
- Authors:
- 15
Research Highlight
SMS reminders boost flu vaccinations
© d3sign/Moment/Getty Images
A text-message reminder to parents is enough to increase flu vaccination rates among children and adolescents with medical conditions that put them at risk of severe influenza.
While vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of these at-risk young people being hospitalized with influenza, only around half of those who would benefit from vaccination actually get immunized against the viral infection.
Now, a team led by researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia has trialled an intervention using mobile-phone text messages to prompt parents to get their child vaccinated, and found it led to higher vaccination rates and faster time to vaccination.
The personalized text message, which included information about the risk that influenza posed to children with certain medical conditions and the fact that vaccination was free, also meant that nearly twice as many children were vaccinated in the optimum period before the winter flu season.
References
- JAMA Pediatrics 177, 337–344 (2023). doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6145