Creating Demand for Immunization Through Gameplay

Dyuti Sen and Tushar Garg from Innovators in Health in India will test whether a communal game of snakes and ladders in maternity health clinics and in homes of pregnant couples can demonstrate the value of childhood immunization to improve coverage in rural communities in Bihar, India. Gameplay may be a valuable way of informing parents about the importance of immunizing their children because it is fun and interactive. Snakes and ladders, which is a popular game in India, can also visually illustrate the positive (ladder) and negative (snake) effects of immunization, such as the economic cost of having a sick child. The board is built up interactively by the parents as they make choices about vaccinating their children from the start (newborn) to the finish (fully protected child). They will train community health workers to facilitate communal games of snakes and ladders, trial their approach in around 15 municipal wards over 12 months, and determine its impact on immunization coverage and local knowledge.