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. 2023 Nov 28;11(12):1773.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines11121773.

A Practical Guide to Pilot Testing Community-Based Vaccination Coverage Surveys

Dale A Rhoda  1 , Felicity T Cutts  2 , Mary Agócs  3 , Jennifer Brustrom  1 , Mary Kay Trimner  1 , Caitlin B Clary  1 , Kathleen Clark  3 , David Koffi  4 , Jean Claude Manibaruta  5 , Alieu Sowe  6 , Rajni Gunnala  7 , Ikechukwu U Ogbuanu  8 , Marta Gacic-Dobo  9 , M Carolina Danovaro-Holliday  9
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A Practical Guide to Pilot Testing Community-Based Vaccination Coverage Surveys

Dale A Rhoda et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Pilot testing is crucial when preparing any community-based vaccination coverage survey. In this paper, we use the term pilot test to mean informative work conducted before a survey protocol has been finalized for the purpose of guiding decisions about how the work will be conducted. We summarize findings from seven pilot tests and provide practical guidance for piloting similar studies. We selected these particular pilots because they are excellent models of preliminary efforts that informed the refinement of data collection protocols and instruments. We recommend survey coordinators devote time and budget to identify aspects of the protocol where testing could mitigate project risk and ensure timely assessment yields, credible estimates of vaccination coverage and related indicators. We list specific items that may benefit from pilot work and provide guidance on how to prioritize what to pilot test when resources are limited.

Keywords: data collection; household survey; immunization; pilot test; surveys; vaccination; vaccination coverage; vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Biostat Global Consulting is a for profit statistical consultancy firm. The funders of this work did not unduly influence the recommendations in this manuscript. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated.

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