Department of Community Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, Nigeria.
Ivan Research Institute, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria.
Malar J. 2024 Nov 2;23(1):325. doi: 10.1186/s12936-024-05134-3.
Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, with millions of cases and high mortality rates annually, especially in low-income countries. Africa bears a substantial burden, with direct costs of malaria among children under five reaching millions of dollars in countries like Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya. In 2021, over 610,000 malaria-related deaths were reported, 96% of which occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite existing interventions, such as long-lasting insecticidal nets, indoor residual spraying, and intermittent preventive treatment, the re-emergence of malaria underscores the need for innovative preventive strategies. This study explores the potential of utilizing mobile phone caller tunes to raise awareness and promote the uptake of the RTS,S malaria vaccine. The technology acceptance model (TAM) provides a framework for understanding how users perceive and adopt new technologies. Caller tunes, a mobile phone feature that plays audio for callers waiting to be connected, have been effective in health communication campaigns in Asia and Africa. This approach could be leveraged to enhance malaria vaccine awareness, particularly in low-income countries where vaccine hesitancy is prevalent and malaria endemic. Overall, mobile technologies have significantly improved healthcare delivery in Africa, facilitating communication, monitoring, and treatment adherence in remote areas. Integrating caller tunes with health messages about the malaria vaccine could address vaccine hesitancy and improve uptake. This would require collaboration with telecommunication companies, healthcare providers, and policymakers to design culturally and linguistically appropriate messages. However, the cost of caller tune services, the need for internet access, and cultural differences are the expected challenge that may occur in this approach. Therefore, strategic partnerships and intersectoral approaches can mitigate these issues, making caller tunes a viable tool for public health communication. Raising awareness through this innovative method could enhance the adoption of the RTS,S vaccine and support ongoing malaria control efforts in Africa.
疟疾仍然是一个重大的全球健康挑战，每年都有数百万人患病，死亡率居高不下，尤其是在低收入国家。非洲承受着巨大的负担，加纳、坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚等国五岁以下儿童因疟疾而产生的直接费用就达数百万美元。2021 年，报告了超过 61 万例与疟疾相关的死亡病例，其中 96%发生在撒哈拉以南非洲。尽管存在长效驱虫蚊帐、室内滞留喷洒和间歇性预防治疗等现有干预措施，但疟疾的再次出现凸显了需要采取创新性预防策略。本研究探讨了利用手机来电铃声来提高人们对 RTS,S 疟疾疫苗的认识并促进其接种的潜力。技术接受模型（TAM）为理解用户如何感知和采用新技术提供了一个框架。来电铃声是一种手机功能，可播放正在等待接听的来电者的音频，它在亚洲和非洲的健康传播活动中已被证明是有效的。这种方法可以用来增强疟疾疫苗的意识，特别是在疫苗犹豫普遍存在且疟疾流行的低收入国家。总体而言，移动技术极大地改善了非洲的医疗保健服务提供，促进了偏远地区的沟通、监测和治疗依从性。将有关疟疾疫苗的健康信息与来电铃声相结合，可以解决疫苗犹豫问题并提高接种率。这需要与电信公司、医疗保健提供者和政策制定者合作，设计文化和语言上适当的信息。然而，来电铃声服务的成本、互联网接入的需求以及文化差异是该方法可能面临的预期挑战。因此，战略伙伴关系和跨部门方法可以减轻这些问题，使来电铃声成为公共卫生传播的一种可行工具。通过这种创新方法提高认识，可以增强对 RTS,S 疫苗的采用，并支持非洲正在进行的疟疾控制工作。
