Health care attitude and behaviour regarding vaccination campaigns and challenges encountered in the Bamenda Health District, Cameroon

Abstract

The Bamenda Health District has frequently been hit by vaccine-preventable diseases, which are sometimes either not well reported or even neglected. This was the motivation behind the research topic “Health Care Attitude and Behaviour Regarding Vaccination Campaigns and Challenges encountered in the Bamenda Health District (BHD), Cameroon”. The main objective of the study was to carry out a survey of the health care attitude and behaviour regarding vaccination campaigns, as well as challenges encountered in the Bamenda Health District (BHD) by the population and public health actors and stakeholders. We carried out a descriptive, cross-sectional and explorative survey in which multistage random sampling was done to obtain a sample size of 414 participants. Key findings revealed negative attitude with regards to vaccination campaigns; mistrust of government information sources; adherence to rumours and negative campaign messages about vaccination programmes; inefficient cold chain system characterized by poor VVM monitoring; a precarious socio-political climate with accompanying insecurity; and Poor vaccination organization. There are massive flaws in the organization of vaccination campaigns in the BHD that need prompt attention. Every public health actor, stakeholder, and the government should therefore redouble their efforts to right the flaws and lapses, both in vaccinations and health promotion strategies. The government should create an enabling and safe environment for efficient and effective vaccination campaigns.