Official Launch of the VERSE Equity Toolkit For Multidimensional Equity Assessments

To identify what issues impair vaccine coverage, researchers traditionally look for an association with just one variable — wealth, for example — instead of examining the host of factors in play. Typical equity metrics may not appropriately account for the compounding effect of geographic and sociodemographic factors on immunization outcomes, such as, in the case of pediatric immunization, where a household is located, the sex of a child being vaccinated, and maternal education level. The VERSE Equity Toolkit compares the level of vaccine coverage against the level of equity and quantifies the influence of key sociodemographic factors to inequity.