The SmartSHOTS team has been working hard on reviewing transcripts from the first round of Community Engagement meetings to identify and classify the barriers to immunization brought to our attention by the volunteers from the community. These themes will inform the features that the app will include. To do this, multiple members of the team reviewed the transcripts, all of whom classified the barriers to immunization identified into categories like transportation, lack of knowledge, mistrust, and others. These categories, and their supporting quotations from the engagement events, were then compared and contrasted by the SmartSHOTS team.

After analyzing the themes, the team has been able to begin the process of designing the features and user flow of the app—essentially, what it will do and how users will interact with it. [1]

Simultaneously, the nurse researchers have been compiling evidence-based immunization information that will be the informational backbone of the app. This includes information about the vaccines, potential side effects, various immunization schedules, and answers to commonly ask questions identified during the engagement meetings. [2]

[1]. Chambers, Christine T., et al. “Implementation effectiveness of a parent-directed YouTube video (“It Doesn’t Have to Hurt”) on evidence-based strategies to manage needle pain: Descriptive Survey Study.” JMIR pediatrics and parenting 3.1 (2020): e13552.

[2]. Wallace, Aaron S., et al. “Experiences with provider and parental attitudes and practices regarding the administration of multiple injections during infant vaccination visits: lessons for vaccine introduction.” Vaccine 32.41 (2014): 5301-5310.