Improving the Suitability of Vaccine Design for Immunisation Programmes and Enhancing Vaccine Policy Quality Through User Research.

BACKGROUND

The achievement of the goals of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) requires vaccines to be developed and implemented that meet the needs and requirements of the final users: vaccinators and vaccinees. A detailed and shared understanding of these needs should inform policy and programme guidance directing stakeholders' efforts and investments. Currently, relevant guidance documents only partially capture vaccine users' perspectives.

METHOD: To help overcome this gap, we propose an operational research method grounded in the principles of the design approach that systematically maps and integrates user perspectives in vaccine development, policy, and implementation decisions.

RESULTS

The method, named the seven Ws, guides researchers through a three-step process. First, it clarifies the contribution of a vaccine to solving a public health problem-the solution-problem fit. Second, it maps potential implementation strategies for the vaccine in different settings. Lastly, it describes the relevant vaccine's use cases across the implementation strategies, elucidating the user requirements for the vaccine to be successfully implemented-the solution-provider and solution-user fits.

CONCLUSIONS

By explicitly pursuing these three fits, policymakers, vaccine developers, and programme managers will be able to better contribute towards the achievement of the IA2030 goals. This framework is intended as a conceptual contribution rather than an empirical validation study.