Date of Award

January 2020

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Daniel Weinberger

Abstract

This paper is aimed toward examining whether methods currently being rolled out to administer the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine to children in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is effectively reducing morbidity and mortality. The fundamental question regarding this current effort is if it proves to be useful at reducing the prevalence of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and whether the surveillance methods examining the efficacy of healthcare interventions are helpful. Both rural and urban India are troubling areas for public health surveillance to reach, though many diseases of poverty and respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia flourish there. With no true quantification of burden, it is challenging to implement interventions and distribute resources. The data for this paper is challenging because it was collected through surveillance networks whose efficacy is yet to be determined. As further analysis was conducted it became apparent that the surveillance data utilized in this paper is not a strong indicator of occurring cases of pneumonia, however through time series analysis, regression analysis, and spatial analytics, useful general trends appeared. The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine roll out is new and success is yet to be determined in the short time period since 2017. Through this detailed analysis of available information details arose that describe the holistic effectiveness of the program and can inform directions for the future. Overall mortality rates hinge on access to care, and this paper will integrate quantitative data analysis with a qualitative review of the systems involved. The results require follow up of several more years to account for disparities between districts and weakness of the data. However, an investigation into the districts where the vaccine was rolled out, which also experienced the heaviest burden of cases, revealed that the PCV rollout has the potential to achieve a tentative level of success. The complication is that as surveillance improves, death counts of previously invisible individuals will ruse. The full effect of this effort will not be seen for 2-4 years due to the age of vaccination and the retooling of health systems. With proper administration, data management, and surveillance systems in place, a shift in vaccine access has a capacity to reduce childhood mortality.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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