Mobile applications have the potential to influence vaccination behavior, including on-time vaccination. We sought to determine whether the use of a mobile immunization app was associated with the likelihood of reporting on-time vaccination in a cohort of 50 childbearing women. In this pilot study, we describe participant reported app use, knowledge, attitudes or beliefs regarding pediatric vaccination and technology readiness index (TRI) scores. To explore if app use is associated with change in attitudes, beliefs or behavior, participants were instructed complete a baseline survey at recruitment then download the app. A follow up survey followed 6-months later, reexamining concepts from the first survey as well as collecting participant TRI scores. Changes in Likert scores between pre and post survey questions were compared and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between TRI score and select survey responses. Thirty-two percent of participants perceived that the app made them more likely to vaccinate on time. We found some individuals' attitudes toward vaccines improved, some became less supportive and in others there was no change. The mean participant TRI score was 3.25(IQR 0.78) out of a maximum score of 5, indicating a moderate level of technological adoption among the study cohort population. While the app was well received, these preliminary results showed participant attitudes toward vaccination moved dichotomously. Barriers to adoption remain in both usability and accessibility of mobile solutions, which are in part dependent on the user's innate characteristics such as technology readiness.

Mobile technology and applications (apps) have disrupted several industries including healthcare. The advantage of apps, being personally focused and permitting bidirectional communication, make them well suited to address many immunization challenges. As of April 25, 2015 searching the Android app store with the words ‘immunize app’ and ‘immunization app’ in Canada yielded 225 apps. On the Apple App Store a similar search produced 98 results. These include apps that provide immunization related information, permit vaccine tracking both for individuals and for animals, assist with the creation of customized schedules and identification of vaccine clinics and serve as sources of education. The diverse functionality of mobile apps creates the potential for transformation of immunization practice both at a personal level and a system level. For individuals, mobile apps offer the opportunity for better record keeping, assistance with the logistics of vaccination, and novel ways of communicating with and receiving information from public health officials. For the system, mobile apps offer the potential to improve the quality of information residing in immunization information systems and program evaluation, facilitate harmonization of immunization information between individuals, health care providers and public health as well as reduce vaccine hesitancy. As mobile technology continues to rapidly evolve there will emerge new ways in which apps can enhance immunization practice.

The Canadian National Vaccine Safety network (CANVAS) gathers and analyzes safety data on individuals receiving the influenza vaccine during the early stages of annual influenza vaccination campaigns with data collected via participant surveys through the Internet. We sought to examine whether it was feasible to use a mobile application (app) to facilitate AEFI reporting for the CANVAS network. To explore this, we developed a novel smartphone app, recruited participants from a hospital influenza immunization clinic and by word of mouth and instructed them to download and utilize the app. The app reminded participants to complete the CANVAS AEFI surveillance surveys ("AEFI surveys") on day 8 and 30, a survey capturing app usability metrics at day 30 ("usability survey") and provided a mechanism to report AEFI events spontaneously throughout the whole study period. All survey results and spontaneous reports were recorded on a privacy compliant, cloud server. A software plug-in, Lookback, was used to record the on-screen experience of the app sessions. Of the 76 participants who consented to participate, 48(63%) successfully downloaded the app and created a profile. In total, 38 unique participants completed all of the required surveillance surveys; transmitting 1104 data points (survey question responses and spontaneous reports) from 83 completed surveys, including 21 usability surveys and one spontaneous report. In total, we received information on new or worsening health conditions after receiving the influenza vaccine from 11(28%) participants. Of the usability survey responses, 86% agreed or strongly agreed that they would prefer to use a mobile app based reporting system instead of a web-based system. The single spontaneous report received was from a participant who had also reported using the Day 8 survey. Of Lookback observable sessions, an accurate transmission proportion of 100% (nD290) was reported for data points. We demonstrated that a mobile app can be used for AEFI reporting, although download and survey completion proportions suggest potential barriers to adoption. Future studies should examine implementation of mobile reporting in a broader audience and impact on the quality of reporting of adverse events following immunization.

Sub-optimal vaccination coverage and recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases serve as a reminder that vaccine hesitancy remains a concern. ImmunizeCA, a new smartphone app to help track immunizations, may address several reasons for not vaccinating. We conducted a study to describe demographic variables, attitudes, beliefs and information sources regarding pediatric vaccination in a sample of childbearing women who were willing to download an immunization app. We also sought to measure their current mobile usage behaviors and determine if there is an association between participant demographics, attitudes, beliefs and information sources regarding pediatric vaccination and mobile usage. We recruited participants using a combination of passive and active methods at a tertiary care hospital in Ottawa, Canada. We used surveys to collect demographic information, examine attitudes, behavior, and information sources regarding immunization and self-reported mobile phone usage. A total of 54 women participated. The majority had positive attitudes toward vaccination (96%) and intended to vaccinate their children (98%). Participants were interested in information on pediatric vaccination (94%), and found information from public health the most reliable and accessible (78%). Participants also trusted immunization information from their doctor or nurse and public health (83%) more than other sources. There was variability in participant use of mobile apps for other purposes. The median participant mobile readiness score was 3.2. We found no significant associations between participant age, behavior and attitudes regarding vaccination and mobile readiness scores. This is the first evaluation of mobile readiness for a smartphone app to track immunizations. Our findings suggest that there exists an opportunity to provide reliable information on vaccination through mobile devices to better inform the public, however predictors of individual engagement with these technologies merits further study.

Future studies should evaluate the quantitative impact of factors we identified on app uptake and usage. Subsequent mobile app studies may benefit from the use of analytic data as they were found to be effective in helping to validate qualitative data derived from interviews with study participants.