Title : Missed opportunities for vaccination and associated factors among children aged 12-23 months in Cameroon
Abstract:
Data from the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) was analyzed for children with at least one vaccination date in the home-based record (HBR). Immunization performance such as accessibility, drop-out, and timeliness, were assessed. Service quality was assessed using MOV. Multiple logistic regression examined the effect of DHS variables on MOV outcomes, and a decision tree approach was used to study their interaction.
Overall, 1824 children aged 12 to 23 months were surveyed which resulted in 70.45% of cards possession and 85.03% of immunization activities. The national prevalence of MOV for simultaneous vaccines was 75.1% (95% confidence interval (CI)=72; 79). Among those who experienced MOV, 67.4% (95% CI=60-73) were uncorrected MOV. Second birth order children experienced more MOV than first born children (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=1.67, 95%CI: 1.11-2.47). Children born to non-educated/primary level mothers had increased odds of experiencing a MOV than those born to educated mothers (aOR=1.48, 95%CI=1.007-2.19/ aOR=1.55, 95%CI=1.12-2.09). Children from poorest households were at high risk of experiencing MOV for any vaccine than richest households (aOR=2.04, 95% CI=1.11-3.76).
There is a burden of MOV and under immunized children in the population. Direct interventions that target rural poor and focus on equity gaps that relate to maternal education, socio-economic status, and family planning, should be implemented. Such strategies should aim at reducing MOV for the achievement of the immunization agenda 2030 goals.
Audience Take Away:
• Exploring survey dataset after the first publication of survey report is somewhat helpful because it provides more insights on secondary immunization indicator performance;
• This was an academic exercise that can be taught to students to enable them with skill gaining in data analysis;
• This is an example of data analysis that can help countries going through their published survey data.
