Abstract
BackgroundGlobally, immunization prevents 2–3 million deaths annually from vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles. In developing countries, several immunization programs have made progress, but the coverage remains a standstill in some areas. In order to inform policies and practices, the present study aimed at assessing vaccination uptake and contextual-associated factors among children aged 12–23 months in rural Gambia.MethodsA community-based triangulated cross-sectional design was conducted in January 2020, with 200 caregivers with children aged 12–23 months in selected households in rural communities across Upper River Region of the Gambia using multistage sampling technique were recruited. A structured interview questionnaire was developed and Infant Welfare Cards were assessed to elicit information regarding contextual household characteristics towards childhood immunization uptake. Percentages, chi-square/fisher exact test for variables with p-value ≤0.15 were considered for inclusion into logistic regression model. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. The adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were reported to declare significance.ResultsThe proportion of children who received all the required vaccines was 66%. At the level of antigen-specific coverage, about 88.5% received BCG, 71% received OPV 3, 82.5% received Penta 3, while 72 and 71% received Measles-Rubella and yellow fever, respectively. Caregivers who had primary education level 88.8% (aOR = 0.112; 95% CI = 0.029–0.434), secondary & above 87.2% (aOR = 0.128; 95% CI = 0.029, 0. 561) and arabic/madrassa 95.7% (aOR = 0.043; 95% CI = 0.008–1.227) were less likely to be fully vaccinated when compared to those who have never been to school. Farmers are less likely by 88.9% (aOR = 0.111; 95% CI 0.020, 0.635) while children from family size of more than 20 members had reduced odds (aOR = 0.420; 95% CI = 0.197, 0.894) for their children to complete their vaccination schedule as compared to those with at most 20 household members.ConclusionThere is moderately a burden of incomplete vaccination in rural Gambia. Vaccination programs should be constantly monitored and evaluated by the Ministry of Health, especially in rural areas. To increase societal awareness and vaccine acceptance, a robust community-based health education efforts are desperately needed as part of initiatives to increase vaccine service utilization for these high-risk classes.
Highlights
Immunization prevents 2–3 million deaths annually from vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles
To increase societal awareness and vaccine acceptance, a robust community-based health education efforts are desperately needed as part of initiatives to increase vaccine service utilization for these high-risk classes
In sub-Saharan Africa, immunization coverage remained at 72% for the past five years and nearly 31 million children under the age of 5 years suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases annually [6]
Summary
Immunization prevents 2–3 million deaths annually from vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles. Since the inception of Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) by The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1974, immunization has become one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. It was created with the ultimate purpose of vaccinating children throughout the world in the control and prevention of infectious diseases [1, 2]. Immunization prevents 2–3 million deaths annually from communicable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles [4]. In sub-Saharan Africa, immunization coverage remained at 72% for the past five years and nearly 31 million children under the age of 5 years suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases annually [6]
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