Vaccination Coverage and Its Determinants in Children Aged 11 - 23 Months in an Urban District of Nigeria

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Performance of the vaccination programme in Nigeria is lower than the regional average as well the 95% target necessary for sustained control of vaccine preventable diseases. This study is aimed at assessing the vaccination coverage and its associated factors in children aged 11 - 23 months in Enugu Metropolis. Methods: A cross sectional study in which caregivers and their children pair, aged 11 - 23 months attending children’s outpatient clinics in Enugu metropolis was undertaken. Respondents were selected consecutively while data were collected using pretested interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 while level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of full vaccination. Results: Of 351 subjects studied, 84.9% (298) were fully immunized according to the national programme on immunization schedule using both vaccination cards and history. The OPV0, OPV3, pentavalent-1, pentavalent-3 and measles coverage at the time of survey were 100.0%, 97.2%, 98.0%, 98.6%, 96.9% and 95.4%, respectively. On logistic regression: maternal occupation (government employees), children born in government hospitals and knowledge of when to start and complete vaccinations in a child were the likely predictors for completion of full vaccination in the children. Conclusion: The vaccination coverage among the study group was adjudged to be relatively high. Delivery of a child in a government hospital and the knowledge of the age when routine vaccinations should begin and end in a child were the independent predictors of the high vaccination coverage rate observed. Awareness and health education efforts in government tertiary hospitals should be extended to private and other hospitals to improve and sustain national vaccination coverage in Nigeria.