Vaccine Chatbot for Improving Influenza Vaccination Uptake

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

An AI-enabled chatbot tailored for influenza vaccine consultation: The AI-enabled influenza vaccine chatbot can be accessed online through WeChat or any web browsers. The foundation of this chatbot is an expansive knowledge database, constructed with information sourced exclusively from healthcare authorities such as China CDCs and Health Departments, and thoroughly verified by public health experts. This database integrates data on the disease's burden, susceptibility, and severity, along with in-depth details about the vaccines, including their importance, efficacy, safety, and recommended demographics and timing for vaccination. It also covers types and costs of vaccines, societal norms such as vaccination guidelines, expert recommendations, and vaccination trends both in China and internationally. It also includes misinformation and fact-checking contents and provides information about vaccination services such as locations and appointment scheduling.

Study summary

This study aims to assess the impact of a vaccine chatbot on improving influenza vaccination uptake among children aged between 6 and 59 months through a cluster randomized trial. Specifically, the main questions it seeks to answer are whether an AI-enabled vaccine chatbot will increase the uptake of influenza vaccine among children and their family members, and how it will influence parents' literacy and confidence towards influenza vaccine. It will explore the potential role of vaccine chatbot on vaccination services.

A cluster randomization will be used to assign children to the intervention and control groups. Parents of children in the intervention group will be invited to use the influenza vaccine chatbot online through WeChat, the mostly widely used social media platform in mainland China, or any web browsers. They can ask any questions related to the influenza vaccine and receive validated answers from the chatbot immediately. The intervention will last one and a half months, with invitations sent every ten days to reinforce the engagement. The control group will not use the chatbot during the intervention duration. After the intervention, the uptake, literacy, and confidence towards influenza vaccine will be compared between the intervention and control groups to evaluate the impact of vaccine chatbot.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Influenza vaccination uptake for children — 1.5 months and three months
  whether the enrolled children receive an influenza vaccine. It will be measured in the survey at the end of the 1.5-month intervention, and be recorded from the vaccination registration system three months after the intervention begins.

Trial sites (1)

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