Vaccination on Wheels - VOW

Jignesh Patel of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad in India will increase vaccination coverage among low-income urban populations in India by designing a mobile vaccine service including a smartphone-based management application that provides customized vaccinations at homes and schools and at lower cost. Vaccination offers excellent protection against many diseases, however coverage is low among low-income populations in urban centers: immunization at private clinics is unaffordable, and public clinics have longer wait times leading to lost wages. They will develop an affordable, convenient, in-home vaccination service and a smartphone-based management application to schedule appointments, automate routes, record vaccination data and collect customer feedback. They will pilot test their approach among low-income populations in three cities by recruiting and training healthcare workers and drivers and evaluating its effect on vaccination coverage.