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Community engagement to support COVID-19 vaccine uptake: a living systematic review protocol

Gilmore B 1 , Gerlach N 2 , Abreu Lopes C 3 , Diallo AA 4 , Bhattacharyya S 5 , de Claro V 6 Show all authors , Ndejjo R 7 , Nyamupachitu Mago E 8 , Tchetchia A 9

Affiliations 

  • 1 UCD Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, Education and Innovation in Health Systems (UCD IRIS), School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland brynne.gilmore@ucd.ie
  • 2 UCD Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, Education and Innovation in Health Systems (UCD IRIS), School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
  • 3 International Institute for Global Health United Nations University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 READ-GROUP, Conakry, Guinea
  • 5 Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, Haryana, India
  • 6 RTI International, Pasig City, Philippines
  • 7 Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
  • 8 Infectious Disease Equity and Engagement Unit, Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
  • 9 Community Health-Community of Practice Collectivity, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Headquarters, New York City, New York, USA
BMJ Open, 2022 Sep 20;12(9):e063057.
PMID: 36127122 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063057

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Widespread vaccination against COVID-19 is one of the most effective ways to control, and ideally, end the global COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy and vaccine rates vary widely across countries and populations and are influenced by complex sociocultural, political, economic and psychological factors. Community engagement is an integral strategy within immunisation campaigns and has been shown to improve vaccine acceptance. As evidence on community engagement to support COVID-19 vaccine uptake is emerging and constantly changing, research that lessens the knowledge-to-practice gap by providing regular and up-to-date evidence on current best-practice is essential.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A living systematic review will be conducted which includes an initial systematic review and bimonthly review updates. Searching and screening for the review and subsequent updates will be done in four streams: a systematic search of six databases, grey literature review, preprint review and citizen sourcing. The screening will be done by a minimum of two reviewers at title/abstract and full-text in Covidence, a systematic review management software. Data will be extracted across predefined fields in an excel spreadsheet that includes information about article characteristics, context and population, community engagement approaches, and outcomes. Synthesis will occur using the convergent integrated approach. We will explore the potential to quantitatively synthesise primary outcomes depending on heterogeneity of the studies.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The initial review and subsequent bimonthly searches and their results will be disseminated transparently via open-access methods. Quarterly briefs will be shared on the reviews' social media platforms and across other interested networks and repositories. A dedicated web link will be created on the Community Health-Community of Practice site for sharing findings and obtaining feedback. A mailing list will be developed and interested parties can subscribe for updates.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022301996.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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