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Phase: Review

Kids Boost Immunity

Kids Boost Immunity inspires learning by connecting school curriculum about vaccination to global citizenship.

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Describe what you intend to do and how you'll do it in one sentence (required 250 Characters)

KBI uses online lessons/quizzes in schools to inoculate children against misinformation in Thailand by empowering students to become global citizens through UNICEF. To do this, we will work with local authorities and NGOs to pilot KBI in 10 schools.

Explain the idea (less than 2,000 characters)

This image describes the basic KBI lifecycle. As alluded to in the application, unlike in Canada, expanding KBI to a developing nation would see the vaccines earned by students, go to other children within the same country. This image describes the basic KBI lifecycle. As alluded to in the application, unlike in Canada, expanding KBI to a developing nation would see the vaccines earned by students, go to other children within the same country.
KBI lifecycle with proposed Thailand model. KBI lifecycle with proposed Thailand model.
Venn diagram explaining how KBI works to inspire local AND global advocacy and action at the same time. Venn diagram explaining how KBI works to inspire local AND global advocacy and action at the same time.
The re-emergence of diseases like measles in many countries around the world are a result of a combination of factors that include complacency and the proliferation of misinformation on the internet. KBI is a digital learning platform for schools designed to combat misinformation through a series of online lessons/quizzes aligned to science and social studies curriculums. For each quiz a student answers correctly, (>80%), they earn a vaccine for another child through UNICEF. Initially developed for Canadian students in grades 4-12, KBI is set to pilot in Scottish schools in September 2019. KBI also recently registered its first school outside of Canada in Bangkok, Thailand. This has prompted developers to explore the possibility of exporting the KBI model to a low/middle income country. Our idea centers around piloting KBI in internet connected school settings in Thailand that will allow kids to earn vaccines for children in other areas in Thailand. These vaccines would be directed for domestic use through an NGO working in the country (e.g. UNICEF/WHO), in cooperation with local authorities. Because health care providers vaccinate children in schools, they have been a key audience and vector to help promote KBI to teachers to use in their classrooms in Canada. We envision the same will hold true for Thailand. Our 35+ lessons can be utilized in primarily 3 different ways: teacher-led, taught in conjunction with a provider prior to vaccination day or self directed by students. From our experience, teaching with a health care worker provides the highest quality educational experience for students. We propose a pilot in 10 schools in areas in Thailand with low immunization rates to increase knowledge & awareness about the importance of vaccination to protect communities from disease. Increased literacy in science and global issues will manifest in higher vaccine coverage rates through changing social norms as well as immunizing kids in other parts of Thailand.

Which part(s) of the world does this idea target?

  • South-eastern Asia

Geographic Focus (less than 250 Characters)

KBI codebase has been built to scale in any country in the world. For this application, we are choosing Thailand because we have a school using the platform already. We are in discussions with UNICEF currently that may result in other settings.

Who are your end users and how well do you know them? (750 characters)

Sample of testimonials from health care providers and teachers that have used KBI in Canada. Sample of testimonials from health care providers and teachers that have used KBI in Canada.
Video clip from CBC TV on KBI's top Canadian school, Senator Reid Elementary. Students answered a total of 57,000 questions on the platform - an average of 450 each.
Our end users are children that benefit from the platform through improving their literacy around science and global issues, or who benefit from getting vaccinated. Educating the next generation about the importance of vaccination represents a holistic long term approach to deal with vaccine hesitancy. KBI represents a 'win' for four groups: Students: Online quizzes make learning fun while fostering personal growth in global citizenship Teachers: KBI meets learning outcomes for teachers while adding student awareness of global health issues Public Health: KBI increases literacy for 'Generation Z' reducing vaccine hesitancy for the next generation of adults Kids: Children around the world get vaccinated through UNICEF

How is the idea unique? (750 Characters)

Kids Boost Immunity represents a new approach to vaccine advocacy by connecting school education directly to global disease prevention. The result: a force multiplier effect where students can act both locally and globally at the same time. By earning vaccines through their own learning, KBI's elegant use of social innovation lay in its ability to empower students with real agency to positively affect the lives of children around the world. Indeed, from our literature searches and evaluation thus far, including presenting at the WHO in Geneva in 2018, KBI's innovative use of digital technology to serve the 'greater good' is unique in the world at this time. The next step in KBI's evolution is to expand to settings in the Global South.

Idea Proposal Stage (Select 1)

  • Majority Adoption: We have expanded the pilot significantly and the program product or service has been adopted by the majority of our intended user base (i.e. 50% to 83% of the target population or 50,000 to 1,000,000 users).

How many months are required for the project idea? (140 characters)

We estimate that it will take 9 months - until approximately until the end of summer 2019 - to complete a pilot in 10 Thailand schools.

Organization Name (less than 140 characters)

Public Health Association of British Columbia

Type of Submitter

  • We are a registered NGO or Non-Profit Organization

Organizational Characteristics

  • International/global organization (implementing in multiple countries)

Organization Location (less than 140 Characters)

Our team is based in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

What is the current scale of your organization’s work?

  • National (expansive reach within one country)

Website URL

www.kidsboostimmunity.com

Tell us more about your organization/company (1-2 sentences)

The Public Health Association of BC is a voluntary, non-profit, non-government, member driven organization that provides leadership to promote health, well-being and social equity. Kids Boost Immunity fits well within our mission and helps fulfill our goals around advocacy, education and collaboration to serve the 'greater good' by helping vaccinate children around the world.

Who will work alongside your organization in the project idea? (750 characters)

We will need to approach local or provincial health and education authorities to set up a pilot in up to 10 Thailand schools. In addition, we will approach UNICEF Thailand as well as other NGOs such as the WHO and Gavi to discuss vaccine logistics and distribution in the country. This approach has worked in Canada and currently we are negotiating with the NHS, and Education Scotland to expand KBI to Scotland for the 2019/2020 school year.

How many people are on your team?

10

Tell us more about you and your team

Our team is comprised of approximately 10 staff and contractors in various disciplines across the health and education sector. We partner with the BC Centre for Disease Control to coordinate the operational aspects of KBI and have worked extensively with a Vancouver based we developer, Affinity Bridge over the past several years to create and maintain the KBI codebase. Kids Boost Immunity is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the British Columbia Ministry of Health. Additional funding to purchase vaccines for UNICEF is provided through private and public partnerships that include Pacific Blue Cross, Sanofi Pasteur and Pfizer.
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Attachments (2)

Screen Shot 2019-03-16 at 1.27.08 PM.png

Home page screen shot of the Kids Boost immunity website.

KBI-Teacher-Brochure-2019-hires.pdf

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