Concept Of Social Vaccine

[Dr] Amzad AliEmail: ali.amzad@gmail.com

Skype: ali.amzad

Cell: +8801713 004696

What is Social Vaccine?

How does social vaccine differ from

medical/actual vaccine?

Which is more effective, less costly and important

from Public Health perspective?

Is there a relationship between social vaccine and

economic development?

What are best practice cases for control and

prevention of behavioral diseases in Bangladesh?

What is Social What is Social Vaccine?Vaccine?

What is a Vaccine?What Is A Vaccine?What Is A Vaccine?

A vaccine is a substance that teaches the body’s immune system to recognize and protect against a disease caused by an infectious agent (e.g. virus or bacterium).

Introduction

Social = Society, Community, People centric communication

‘Living together in communities Human positive behaviours “I like Him or Her” why?

Vaccine = Protection, Prevention and means of Behavior change and diseases prevention

THE ‘SOCIAL VACCINE’

OriginsThough the origins of the ‘social vaccine’ concept is not clear, its use can be traced back to the counselling and psychological studies stream. The California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem described ‘self esteem’ as a social vaccine or a dimension of personality that empowered people and inoculated them against a wide spectrum of self-defeating and socially undesirable behaviour

THE ‘SOCIAL VACCINE’…cont’d

The concept of ‘social vaccine’ was also used in other areas like de-addiction and control of addictive substances like tobacco and drugs.

Public opinion was seen as a powerful social vaccine that effectively precludes certain behaviours in the fight against tobacco and drugs.

THE ‘SOCIAL VACCINE’…cont’d

In the field of HIV/AIDS, the ‘social vaccine’ concept came to be used in the 1990s where it referred to a comprehensive package of preventive education, promotion of contraceptive use and edification of communities.

This approach was used in Thailand to suppress HIV infection rates and was cited as a model to be emulated

Education and Social Vaccine

There are two issues here—one is the use of ‘education’ as social vaccine, and

The second is the use of social vaccine in educational settings like the use of school-based risk reduction strategies.

The spectrum of use of the former varies from ‘sex education’ to ‘life-skills training’ to ‘use of education as an empowerment and developmental tool’.

Social Vaccine- defination

“A social vaccine can be defined as, ‘actions that address social determinants and social inequities in society, which act as a precursor to the public health problem being addressed’.

While the social vaccine cannot be specific to any disease or problem, it can be adapted as an intervention for any public health response.

The aim of the social vaccine is to promote equity and social justice that will inoculate the society through action on social determinants of health”.

Recognising Social Determinants of health

The People’s Charter for Health that emerged at the first People’s Health Assembly in Savar, Bangladesh, in December 2000, noted that ‘inequality, poverty, exploitation, violence and injustice are at the root of ill health and the deaths of the poor and marginalized’.

It also emphasized that ‘health is a social, economic and political issue and above all a fundamental human right’.

Action suggested a six point programme which included:

Health as a human right; Tackling the broader determinants of health - economic,

social and political challenges; environmental challenges, war, violence, conflict and natural disasters

A people centred health sector, People’s participation for a healthy world

Very significantly, it is the first comprehensive consensus health document that suggests that action for health has to move beyond the biomedical approach

Focusing on drugs and vaccines to a more comprehensive social approach

Recognizing social approaches to tackling health challenges

and public health

What are those?

Different types of Social Vaccine

• Biomedical – medical vaccine, EPI, others

• Social and behavioural- education, positive health

practices

• Structural– (stigma reduction, gender equality)

• Legal and policy- Law formation

• Human character – Charismatic figure!

DISCOVERY VACCINE DESIGN

PRECLINICAL RESEARCH

CLINICAL TRIALS

How Social Vaccine Developed?

How Is A Vaccine Developed?How Is A Vaccine Developed?

Most Powerful nation is giving POWER to POOR nation –

Man who has changed the world

No “Magic Bullet”“It is critical to note that there is no “magic bullet” for HIV prevention. None of the new prevention methods currently being tested is likely to be 100 percent effective, and all willneed to be used in combination with existing prevention approaches if they are to reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS.”

Different levels of prevention

Prevention: strategies that prevent development of diseases or interrupt progression of disease

Primary prevention: reduce exposure or susceptibility – promote good health; sex education; protection

Secondary prevention: early detection and treatment, reduce risk (treat Sti’s)

Tertiary prevention: limits disability as result of disease - ARV

Social and behavioural preventioninterventions

• ABC • Voluntary Counselling & Testing

(VCT)• Stepping Stones counselling

intervention• Positive Health habits • Do apply positive behaviours

What is the ABC Approach?

A= Abstain

B= Be faithful

C= use Condoms

Population specific approach, emphasizing different options for different populations depending on level of risk (risk avoidance as well as risk reduction)

Two approaches to disease prevention

1. Risk avoidance ( Smoking, Not injecting drugs, or stopping if already started, fake love in FB).

2. Risk- reduction or “remedies” interventions (condoms, treating STIs with drugs, providing clean needles)

Some refer to the latter as “Primary Prevention” or “Primary Behavior Change”

Approaches to Health & Prevention

What Social Vaccine can do?

Vaccination is the top Public

Health achievement of

the 20th Century

MMWR 1999; 48:241

The AIDS epidemic has taught us to be innovative and to invent, test and implement new interventions. We now have evidence of HIV prevention strategies that work!

However, despite our innovation, inventiveness and compelling evidence of effective strategies, the “killer virus” is still chasingand killing us!

We can change our Future We can change our Future

Social Vaccine is people, process and combination of products with price for positive

change

References

1. WHO. Tech. Report Series 137. WHO. 1952.2. WHO.Constitution Of World Health Organization. 1946.3. WHO. Role of Health sector in Food and Nutrition. Tech.

Report Series 137. Geneva. 1980.4. IGNOU. Concepts in Nursing. Available online at:

http://www.ignou.ac.in/edusat/BNS/BNS101-Blk2-3-4/Block1en/38-66color.pdf

5. WHO. Ageing and Health. A health promotion approach for developing countries. WHO, Regional Office for the Western Pacific United Nations Avenue.Manila, Philippines;2000.11-15.

6. Ghai OP, Gupta P. Essential Preventive Medicine. Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. India;1999:23,817-819.

7. Park K. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 20th edition, 2013. Banarsidas Bhanot publishers, Jabalpur, India