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

Abstract

IntroductionWidespread 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 analysisA 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 disseminationThe 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 numberCRD42022301996.

Can communities be mobilised to build capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative process evaluation

“…Our findings align with previous research on the elements needed to effectively communicate risk to people during epidemics3 and recent community engagement research which found that community leaders, volunteers and multilingual approaches targeted to specific groups can effectively disseminate COVID-19 information and expand access to testing 11 12. Recent research calls for authentic community outreach13 but as of yet there are few studies confirming effectiveness 14. There is evidence from a recent systematic review that community engagement can prevent and control disease during an epidemic, when local leaders, community organisations and networks, key stakeholders and local people communicate social and behavioural risk and get logistical support from health sectors 15.…”

“…11 12 Recent research calls for authentic community outreach 13 but as of yet there are few studies confirming effectiveness. 14 There is evidence from a recent systematic review that community engagement can prevent and control disease during an epidemic, when local leaders, community organisations and networks, key stakeholders and local people communicate social and behavioural risk and get logistical support from health sectors. 15 Stories from our Covid champions indicated that support promoted vaccine uptake, but we decided not to ask individuals to share personal details allowing us to link them with vaccination decisions, because of the widespread lack of trust.…”

Applying Human-Centered Design in Formative Research: Developing a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial for a Culturally Tailored Women's Empowerment Program to Boost Immunization Service Uptake (Preprint)

“…The core causes of vaccine hesitancy within certain cultural and social contexts can be effectively addressed by community-led lobbying. 36,[37][38][39] Advocacy groups can help close the gap between scientific knowledge and community perceptions by customizing messaging to fit local conventions, beliefs, and languages. 35,40 In addition to fostering inclusivity, this culturally aware approach makes sure that no member of the community is left out.…”

Participatory Approaches in Community Health in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review Protocol

“…20 There is also a systematic review still in progress that aims to examine "community engagement" with a global scope but specifically on how participation supports COVID-19 vaccine uptake. 21 One rapid evidence review explored "community engagement" approaches during infectious disease outbreaks prior to COVID-19 (i.e., Ebola, Zika, SARS, MERS, and H1N1 outbreaks) and identified community engagement actors and their functions. 3 Outside the context of public health emergencies, several reviews on community participation have been published, starting with the first reviews on CBPR by Israel et al in 1998 22 and by Salimi et al in 2012.…”