Effect of tailored information of vaccination schedule on vaccine uptake in northern Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: A vaccination schedule is complex and dynamic that requires repetitive and timely clinic visits by children and their caretakers. This study investigates whether providing caregivers with one-time tailored information on the vaccination schedule improves the vaccine uptake among children. Methods: The study participants were 534 women each with a child age 8 months or less; they were from 11 settlements in Jada, a local government area in Adamawa state, Nigeria. The study was conducted on September 2019 to June 2020. Women were randomly selected to be assigned to a treatment group to be provided with one-time tailored information on their children’s current vaccination status and the next schedule for vaccination, while women in the control group were provided with generic information on the vaccination schedule. We employed the ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression depending on the type of dependent variables to analyze the treatment effect. Results: After the women received tailored information on the vaccination schedule, the number of clinic visits for vaccination increased. However, the tailored information did not improve the vaccine uptake among children at a particular age nor the full vaccination rate. Conclusion: One-time tailored information has an immediate but no sustainable effect. It might be important for women to be constantly reminded about the vaccination schedule.