Testing a Biometric Identification System to Improve Malaria Vaccine Completion
University of Michigan
4,715 participants
Oct 15, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
Receiving all four doses of the malaria vaccine can significantly protect children against malaria illness, hospitalization, and death. However, in Ghana, only 46% of children complete the full vaccination sequence. More broadly, many children in Ghana do not receive the full set of recommended pediatric vaccinations. To address this, Simprints, in collaboration with Ghana Health Services, will implement a digital vaccination record system linked to biometrics. This system will automatically identify children who are behind on their vaccination schedule, providing health workers with information to prioritize community outreach. Additionally, it will send voice message reminders to caregivers to improve compliance. A cluster-randomized controlled trial (c-RCT) will be conducted in the Oti region to measure the impact of this innovation on the proportion of children completing malaria and routine vaccination schedules.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria2
- Pregnant women (in the last two trimesters), aged 15-49 years old, who do not plan to permanently move in the next 12 months.
- Women with children under 6 months old, aged 15-49 years old, who do not plan to permanently move in the next 12 months.
Exclusion Criteria3
- Non-age-eligible women.
- Men and non-emancipated minors.
- Women who do not consent.
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Interventions
Health facilities randomized in treatment clusters will be provided with a digital vaccination record system (e-tracker) linked to biometrics (facial recognition) of caregivers (if child is below 6 months) or of children (if child is above 6 months). With the support of Ghana Health Services, Simprints will train CHWs on digital vaccination record system (e-tracker) and biometrics. Simprints will also provide Technical Assistance to CHWs for the duration of the study.
Caregivers (if child is below 6 months) or children (if child is above 6 months) living in communities in the catchment areas of health facilities randomized in treatment clusters will be registered at the community level into the e-tracker and biometrics (facial recognition), and caregivers of children who are due for or missed vaccination will receive voice message appointment reminders if they provided a phone number during the registration in biometrics. Reminders will be sent before a child is due a visit to receive vaccination, as well as after a child missed his due visit.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
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NCT07261280