Social Data in the Polio Programme: Webinar

"...social data is a kind of a feedback mechanism from the community....it's core to the objective of eradication..."

Organised by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Polio Social and Behavior Change (SBC) team, this webinar drew on UNICEF's experience in collecting and using social data to strengthen SBC in polio outbreak responses around the world. It provides examples from UNICEF country offices (COs) that have recently responded to polio outbreaks, as well as an overview of a set of rapid social data collection tools that can be used by COs and others. The webinar was in English with live French interpretation and bilingual slides, and the 143 attendees from around the world had an opportunity to discuss, in English or French, the challenges and barriers they face in collecting and using social data. The purpose of the event, held on April 25 2022, was to share knowledge and learning from different polio teams around the world and to build connections among the participants.

The webinar began with an introduction and a presentation by Ross Mcintosh on how data can support outbreak response and what technical resources are available. Mcintosh is the Monitoring and Evaluation [M&E] Specialist in the UNICEF HQ [headquarters] Polio Team. He provides technical support to polio-endemic and polio outbreak countries and leads UNICEF's engagement on M&E with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) at the global level. Among other topics, Mcintosh explained that social data in the context of polio work can:

• Provide an understanding of which groups, if any, are hesitant to vaccinate their children against polio (e.g., men or women, particular population groups, people in particular geographies);
• Provide a detailed understanding of why these groups are hesitant to vaccinate;
• Be used by SBC professionals to strengthen communication strategies;
• Suppport discussions with emergency operations centres (EOCs), the GPEI, governments, and others (e.g., when you need to make a case for the importance of communication work or when you need evidence to support your argument for a particular decision); and
• Meet the occasional need for upwards reporting through the GPEI or through UNICEF's internal systems.

Mcintosh's slides explored, for example, constraints that arise when trying to gather social data, such as in an outbreak context or when it is challenging to get a hold of independent monitoring results. Various tools are available, he said, so COs do not need to reinvent the wheel. Among those he discussed are these resources, all of which are availabled at Related Summaries, below:

1. "Social Data and Polio Eradication: A Reference Guide";
2. "Rapid Social Data Collection Tools: Rapid Polling and Rapid Qualitative Research and for Polio Outbreak Response"; and
3. "KAP Polls for Immunization and Polio Programmes: A Guide to Higher Quality In-person KAP Polls for C4D Managers".

Next, Soterine Tsanga, Social & Behavior Change Specialist from the Outbreaks Team at UNICEF in Geneva, Switzerland, gave a presentation, in French, on the qualitative research her team undertook in January 2021 while she was at UNICEF in Cameroon. This study focused on the reason for non-vaccination of children; one finding was that more than 50% of the refusals were linked to rumours. In general, Tsanga's work involves providing SBC support to several polio outbreaks countries in UNICEF's West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO); in this context, she has worked closely with them in the M&E of their activities. She also supports outbreak countries to conduct/prepare social surveys with the support of her UNICEF HQ colleagues.

Anastasiia Nurzhynska, Social & Behavior Change Specialist at UNICEF Ghana, presented on a quantitative cross-sectional mobile phone survey that explored factors influencing the uptake of the polio vaccine among Ghanaian mothers with children younger than 5 years of age. The study also included a variety of short polio vaccine voice message nudges to identify the most effective message frames. The study built on some qualitative research the team had previously conducted with religious leaders (see Related Summaries, below). These focus group discussions highlighted some of the sociological, environmental, and psychological factors increase that may potentially increase vaccine uptake. The data gathered here helped shape the survey instrument for the quantitative survey - the second part of which tested frames, such as a social norm frame ("most people in your community are getting their children vaccinated against polio"). The researchers found that all the frames worked and played a statistical significant role; in particular, the social norms messenger effect and safety messages were found to increase vaccination uptake.

Because this research revealed that health workers play a major role in the decision to get vaccinated and that their capacity should be strengthened, UNICEF Ghana launched technology using the same platform, where health workers receive calls with short tips on how to talk with clients who are hesitant about vaccination. UNICEF received positive responses from the 800 nurses in Ghana who received these calls, indicating that the service was a useful and efficient way for them to learn. For example, community health nurses in remote areas without easy access to computers or printed materials said these audio calls on their mobile phones worked well.

The final 45 minutes or so of the webinar were allocated to a question-and-answer (Q&A) session, which included discussion with participants on challenges and barriers to using social data in their polio work.