Data is a useful tool for strengthening SBC and C4D strategies. It can be used to understand vaccination coverage in polio SIAs; the proportion of children who are missed due to caregiver refusal of vaccination; the attitudes and beliefs of caregivers regarding polio vaccines and polio vaccination campaigns; and other social barriers to achieving sufficient vaccination coverage to stop an outbreak or to eradicate wild poliovirus. The polio programme has developed a set of tools and resources for collecting and using data of this kind.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Research
UNICEF invests strongly in generating evidence for decision-making in Polio SBC. The purpose of these investments is to ensure that the Polio Programme is able better understand and therefore overcome the most important social barriers to polio eradication. They also provide a mechanism for the perspectives and voices of communities in polio priority areas to be heard by those making decisions about polio vaccination campaigns across the world. Highlights of this approach include:
- Peer-reviewed research demonstrating the impact of social norms on caregiver’s intention to vaccinate their children in Pakistan
- Peer-reviewed research describing caregiver perceptions of the introduction of refined versions of the oral polio vaccine in DRC, Nigeria and Kenya
- Qualitative research exploring the effect of Covid-19 and the introduction of Covid-19 vaccines on caregiver perceptions of polio vaccination campaigns
- Detailed anthropological research on caregiver perceptions of polio vaccination campaigns in Pakistan
- Rapid social data collection methodologies and tools for collecting social data in polio outbreak response