Perceptions and demand for routine immunisation and other maternal child health services during COVID-19 pandemic among caregivers and healthcare works in East Asia and the Pacific

The research aims to systematically understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted maternal and child health services to inform planning of programs, services and strategies.

It will begin in Indonesia, chosen as a high COVID-19 incidence setting, and is a partnership with researchers at Universitas Indonesia’s Faculty of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology; the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the University of Melbourne and Australian National University (ANU).

This is the first phase of the multi-country study, led by Professor Julie Leask, and involves a desk review of relevant literature, and collaborative protocol development with a Technical Advisory Group convened by UNICEF.

The team in Jakarta will undertake data collection in several provinces across Indonesia, which will be led by Dr. dr. Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono, MSc and Dra. Oktarinda, MSi.

Their team will conduct a survey of 700 caregivers of children <2 years and 300 immunisation and maternal and child health workers. The findings will be shared with the Ministry of Health, UN agencies, Donors, NGOs and Private Sector to inform planning to ensure access to high-quality pregnancy, postnatal care, and immunisation services. 

The investigators are members of the Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance (ARIA) and supported by the University of Sydney’s Office of Global Health. The team includes:

• Professor Julie Leask, School of Nursing and Midwifery, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance and University of Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, USYD
• Dr Kerrie Wiley, School of Public Health and Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, USYD
• Professor Mu Li, School of Public Health, USYD
• Dr Meru Sheel, School of Population Health, Australian National University
• Associate Professor Margie Danchin, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI)
• Ms Kylie Jenkins, consultant in immunisation programs
• Dr dr Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia
• Dr Oktarinda, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia