Millions of children in low- and middle-income countries still die from diseases that could have been prevented with vaccines. In order to reach these children, a variety of interventions have been developed and, in some cases, their effect has been evaluated. The studies in this review took place in both rural and urban areas in several countries, including Pakistan and Ghana. The interventions included organising village meetings where immunisation was discussed and promoted; giving information to mothers during their visits to clinics; and distributing specially designed immunisation cards to remind mothers of their children’s immunisation appointments. The families receiving these interventions were compared to families who only received the usual health services.
The review showed that village meetings probably lead to an increase in the number of children who get vaccinated. The quality of this evidence is moderate. Giving information to mothers during visits to the clinic, or giving them specially designed immunisation cards may increase the number of children who get vaccinated, but the quality of this evidence is low.