| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Background: Missed opportunities are a hurdle for achieving full immunization coverage and by reducing it we can increase coverage in a cost-effective manner, improve health service delivery and promote synergy between programs. There is a need to document the current prevalence and factors associated with MOV, as we are gradually increasing the number of scheduled immunization visits.
Objective: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with missed opportunities for vaccination and the vaccination coverage among children aged 0-23 months attending outpatient services in Wakiso Health Centre IV, Wakiso district.
Methods: This was a health unit based cross-sectional study, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches to data collection. It was carried out in Wakiso Health Centre IV, Wakiso District in Uganda. A total of 389 children aged 0-23 months and their accompanying caretakers were enrolled. Immunization records were reviewed and caretakers were interviewed. A health worker survey, in-depth interview and FGDs were also carried out.
Results: The median age of the children was 5.3 months (IQR: 2.5-9). The prevalence of MOV was determined to be 12.1% (95% CI: 9.2 - 15.7). On multivariate analysis, a child who had not been previously immunized before and a child being male were found to be significantly associated with MOV. There were caretaker, health worker and health facility related factors that collectively resulted to MOVs. The vaccination coverage in this population for BCG, DPT3 and measles vaccines was 98.8%, 84.5% and 73.5% respectively.
Conclusions and Recommendations MOV among children in Wakiso HC IV was 12.1% and higher in children who had never been immunized before and male children. imply that the elimination of MOV is not yet optimal for the improvement of immunization coverage in the area. There were health facility, health worker and caretaker related factors that were mentioned that could lead to an increase in MOV. The immunization coverage was lower for later doses. Interventions to reduce MOV and improve immunization coverage include training of health workers, improving caregiver engagement, screening of vaccination documentation by health workers.
Key words: vaccination, missed opportunities for vaccination, caretaker | en_US |
