Abstract
BackgroundThe proportion of incompletely immunized children in Pakistan varies from 37-58%, and this has recently resulted in outbreaks of measles and polio. The aim of this paper is to determine the factors associated with incomplete immunization among children aged 12-23 months in Pakistan.MethodsSecondary analysis was conducted on nationally representative cross-sectional survey data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 2006-07. The analysis was limited to ever-married mothers who had delivered their last child during the 23 months immediately preceding the survey (n = 2,435). ‘Complete immunization’ was defined as the child having received twelve doses of five vaccines, and ‘incomplete immunization’ was defined if he/she had missed at least one of these twelve doses. The association between child immunization status and determinants of non-utilization of vaccines was assessed by calculating unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals using a multivariable binary logistic regression.ResultsThe findings of this research showed that nearly 66% of children were incompletely immunized against seven preventable childhood diseases. The likelihood of incomplete immunization was significantly associated with the father’s occupation as a manual worker (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.10-1.97), lack of access to information (AOR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.09-1.66), non-use of antenatal care (AOR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07-1.66), children born in Baluchistan region (AOR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.12-2.70) and delivery at home (AOR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.14-1.69).ConclusionsDespite governmental efforts to increase rates of immunization against childhood diseases, the proportion of incompletely immunized children in Pakistan is still high. Targeted interventions are needed to increase the immunization rates in Pakistan. These interventions need to concentrate on people with low socioeconomic and educational status in order to improve their knowledge of this topic.
Highlights
The proportion of incompletely immunized children in Pakistan varies from 37-58%, and this has recently resulted in outbreaks of measles and polio
Our study aims to describe the individual factors associated with incomplete immunization among last-born children aged 12-23 months in Pakistan
As far as regional differences were concerned, more than three quarters of children in the province of Baluchistan were incompletely immunized (79.9%). Of those children who were delivered at home, 73.6% were incompletely immunized, and of those born to mothers who had not used antenatal services, 77.2% were incompletely immunized
Summary
The proportion of incompletely immunized children in Pakistan varies from 37-58%, and this has recently resulted in outbreaks of measles and polio. The aim of this paper is to determine the factors associated with incomplete immunization among children aged 12-23 months in Pakistan. Vaccination is one of the major contributors to public health It has eliminated some of the most dreaded childhood diseases, such as polio, from all over the world except in a few countries [1]. Childhood immunization is considered to be one of the most important health indicators of a healthy childhood It assures protection from major childhood diseases, is estimated to prevent millions. In 1974, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) with the aim of controlling six childhood diseases: tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, polio and measles. The national EPI aims to immunize all children between the ages of 0 and 23 months against eight vaccine-preventable diseases which include, in addition to the above-mentioned diseases, hepatitis B (vaccine introduced in 2002) and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) (vaccine introduced in 2008) [3] (Table 1)
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