Effectiveness of Educational and Vaccination Interventions in Preventing Monkeypox: Case of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

Abstract

Preventing the spread of Monkeypox in endemic countries in low-resource settings is important to address the prevalence of this disease and avoid outbreaks in other regions, mostly in the Central African countries and Northern Europe. The concepts covered in this area are educational and vaccination interventions to prevent Monkeypox transmission as a vital public health priority. The aim of this dissertation is to review evidence about the effectiveness of educational and vaccination interventions in low- and-middle-income countries (LMICs) and to examine factors affecting successful implementation of these interventions. A critical review of current literature enabled to evaluate the preventative interventions and factors affecting their implementation to address Monkeypox incidence. The range of evidence included comprised nine studies, eight of which provided evidence from LMICs, while one study was from a high-resource economy, namely the United States. This paper on a high-resource setting was included to assist in establishing factors that have enabled the effective implementation of an intervention in this context to promote public health and suggest ways in which low-income settings could manage implementation challenges. LMICs have differing abilities to handle the factors that affect the successful implementation of intervention efforts. The educational intervention activities increase the ability to identify and address suspected and confirmed Monkeypox cases, while vaccination intervention approaches reduce vulnerability to Monkeypox virus exposure among community members and health care workers. A major finding revealed is that vaccination interventions increased the safety levels among the health care workers infected by Monkeypox virus over a period of four years, with an incidence of 17.4 cases per 10,000 people compared to a range of 0.6-1.8% by year. Corrective and concentrated intervention efforts by the government, health workers, and community members through relaying information and providing follow-up programs is an opportunity to cushion against vulnerability to Monkeypox in low-and-middle-income countries.