Comparative analysis of the use of mobile applications versus other reporting channels for adverse events reporting during COVID-19 vaccine deployment in Ghana

Background The novel nature of COVID-19 vaccines and their deployment in an emergency setting in Ghana required the establishment of a well-established pharmacovigilance structure that supports timely identification of safety issues that may compromise public health and safety. The Med Safety App was identified as a tool which could enable a two-way communication between the regulatory body and healthcare professionals or consumers to ensure the monitoring of vaccine safety. Objectives The objective of this study is to perform a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the Med Safety App for reporting of AEFI compared to other reporting tools during the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana. Methodology The study was cross-sectional in design, using mainly primary quantitative data. Additionally, secondary data on reported AEFIs were also reviewed. A quantitative descriptive analysis was conducted on 4,389 spontaneous AEFI reports from COVID-19 vaccines deployed in Ghana from March 2021 to December 2022 to assess the timeliness of reporting and case detection rates defined as number of AEFIs identified per 100,000 surviving infants in a population, for the different tools for reporting AEFIs. A 30-item self-administered questionnaire was administered to 147 healthcare workers to assess their awareness of the Med Safety App for reporting AEFIs during the COVID-19 vaccination. Results Comparatively, 68.2% AEFIs received through the App were reported within 0–3 days compared to 67.3%, 57.4% and 3.1% for SafetyWatch, telephone calls and AEFI paper reporting form respectively for the same period. Majority of healthcare professionals (128, 87.0%) had not heard of the Med Safety App. For a preferred tool for reporting AEFI, telephone (30.82%), paper forms (29.5%), Med Safety App (28.0%), WhatsApp (4.8%), SafetyWatch System (2.7%); 4.1% had no preference for any of the reporting tools. Conclusion The App was found to be very useful in terms of timeliness for reporting and identification of AEFIs by healthcare professionals. However, there was low awareness of the use of the App among healthcare professionals in Ghana.