Are reminder stickers effective in reducing immunization dropout rates in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia?
A field trial to assess the effectiveness of a reminder sticker in reducing immunization dropout rates was conducted in two districts of Addis Ababa between 14 October 1991 and 31 January 1992. A total of 703 children were entered into the study. The study population was randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received a reminder sticker and the control group did not. All other services were identical. A baseline interview documented the socio-demographic and maternal characteristics potentially related to immunization services utilization and revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The dropout rates were 7.3 and 13.3% in the intervention and control groups respectively. This difference is clinically and statistically (P < 0.01) significant. Therefore, it is concluded that the reminder sticker is effective in reducing immunization dropout rates. Further investigations under operational conditions are recommended prior to the routine introduction of stickers into the immunization services.
Department of Community Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Y
Y
Berhane
J
J
Pickering
D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004522:Educational Status; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D017010:Reminder Systems / Q000191:economics; D012984:Software