HP Seminar - Elisa Maffioli, PhD | "Convenient Access and Invitations: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination in Kenya"

Elisa Maffioli, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, September 12th
• Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
• Location: 1104 Blockley Hall (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95353951407.)
• Topic: "Convenient Access and Invitations: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination in Kenya"

Abstract: Understanding how to increase compliance with vaccination policies without creating backlash is critical especially during public health emergencies. This study evaluates policies designed to increase vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. First, we examine whether bringing COVID-19 vaccination closer to households coupled with home visits from healthcare providers increases vaccine uptake immediately. We find that the intervention increased vaccination by 7.4 cumulative doses per 100 people on the day of the intervention (SE = 0.011, p< 0.001), equivalent to about a 8% increase over the baseline number of cumulative doses in the control group (89.6 per 100 people). The effect persisted in the three months following the intervention, suggesting that the campaign did not simply speed up vaccination but instead vaccinated those who would not have otherwise been. Second, to observe whether vaccine uptake was due to pressure from healthcare providers, we randomized whether the home visit was announced ahead of time. The announcement allows those unwilling to be vaccinated to avoid being home at the scheduled visit time, and thus avoid needing to decline vaccination. We find that announcing the visit increased the probability of receiving an additional dose by 3.8 percentage points, equivalent to a 16% increase over the baseline rate in the unannounced group (23.1%). Together, these results indicate an absence of backlash in this context. We estimate the cost per marginal dose to be $42 in the intervention, and suggest that cost-effectiveness could be improved by using cheaper forms of transportation, less-skilled healthcare providers, and through targeting.

Speaker Bio: Elisa Maffioli , PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Management and Policy, at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and an Assistant Professor of Global Public Health. She received her PhD in Economics from Duke University in 2018. She is an economist who focuses on studying global health challenges faced by poor households in low-income countries. Her research aims to improve individual and population health by addressing socio-economic, behavioral, and political determinants of health. She employs a variety of empirical approaches, including randomized controlled trials developed in collaboration with governmental and international organizations, quasi-experimental methods combined with secondary data, and cost-effectiveness analysis. Her research primarily focuses on estimating the impact of public health interventions aimed at controlling infectious diseases and improving maternal and child health, with a primary focus on Africa and Southeast Asia.