Immunisation Status of Under Five Children in a Tribal Colony of Northern Kerala

Abstract

Background: One of the most cost effective and easy methods for the healthy wellbeing of a child isimmunization. Paniyans is one of the major tribes of Wayanad and are the largest single tribal community.The sociocultural, political, and topographical uniqueness of the tribal groups in Kerala, their needs of healthcare, attitudes, and health-care-seeking behaviors differ from the nontribal population and thus, challengethe present service-delivery system that has largely been based on the needs and priorities formulated forthe nontribal population.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done between November 2018 to January 2019 at Jai Hindcolony, Wayanad district among Paniyan tribes. All the under 5 children in the colony were the study subjects.The parents were approached individually in their houses and data was collected using a predesigned andpretested investigator-administered questionnaire. Responses were obtained from a total 21 parents of thesubjects.Results: The maximum coverage was for BCG (100%), followed by OPV0 and hepatitis B 0 doses (95.23%for both) and the least was MR 2 and DPT 1 doses (52.94% for both). Majority of the children (52.38%) werepartially immunized and there were no children (0%) who were non immunized. The most common reasonfor partial immunization was unawareness regarding the need for immunization (54.54%).Conclusions: The proportion of fully immunized children was significantly lower in the study. The maximumcoverage was for BCG and the least was MR2 and DPT1 doses. The most common reasons for partial/noimmunization in the current study was lack of awareness regarding the need for immunization