Tackling barriers to collective action for effective vaccination campaigns: rabies in rural Africa as an example

Lim, P. C., Lembo, T. , Hampson, K. , Changalucha, J. , Sambo, M. and Ghosal, S. (2022) Tackling barriers to collective action for effective vaccination campaigns: rabies in rural Africa as an example. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9, 364. (doi: 10.1057/s41599-022-01374-3)

Abstract

Vaccine-based protection in populations that are vulnerable to infectious diseases represents a public good, whose successful attainment requires collective action. We investigated participation in mass domestic dog vaccination against dog-mediated human rabies endemic in Tanzania as a prototypical example of these issues. We employed advertising interventions, text messaging and/or engagement through community leaders, as well as operational adjustments to increase the saliency of rabies risks and reduce barriers to participation in vaccination campaigns. Neither advertising strategies were effective on their own, however, when taken together, the two advertising strategies substantially improved vaccination coverage. Operational interventions, such as increasing vaccination stations and extending time windows of delivery, greatly enhanced participation. Our experimental and theoretical findings highlight the importance of both salience and context: sparking successful collective action requires decision-making bodies to understand and respond to the challenges encountered by intended beneficiaries in their local contexts.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was funded by a Lord Kelvin/Adam Smith studentship from the University of Glasgow to PCL, Wellcome funding to KH (207569/Z/17/Z) and to JC (106824/Z/15/Z) and a GCRF small grant from the Scottish Funding Council.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sambo, Dr Maganga and Lembo, Dr Tiziana and Lim, Putthi Cheat and Hampson, Professor Katie and Ghosal, Professor Sayantan and changalucha, Mr joel
• Authors: Lim, P. C., Lembo, T., Hampson, K., Changalucha, J., Sambo, M., and Ghosal, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine; College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Economics
• Journal Name: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• ISSN: 2662-9992
• ISSN (Online): 2662-9992
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 9: 364
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.7910/DVN/IBCQDR

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
301620		The Science of Rabies Elimination	Katie Hampson	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)	207569/Z/17/Z	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine