determinants of completion of immunization among children aged 12-23 months in northern uganda

Description

Although childhood immunization coverage in Uganda has improved since 2006, full coverage of age-appropriate vaccines remains below the WHO recommended vaccine coverage of at least 90%. Several factors for less than WHO recommended vaccine coverage in Uganda have been cited, but more information is needed about the interactions between these factors to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. This research aimed at identifying the determinants of immunization coverage of among children aged 12-23 months in Northern Uganda. This study analyzed data of 1480 mothers of children aged 12–23 months from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS). The outcome of the study was full immunization, defined as receiving all the WHO recommended basic vaccines by the age of 12 months. Bivariate analysis of factors associated with immunization was done using Chi- Square test, while the multivariable analysis was done using Logistic regression model for prevalence ratios (PR). The model used robust standard errors to account for heteroskedasticity in the data and counts based on binary data. Data analysis was done using STATA Software Version 14. Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12–23 months in Northern Uganda was only 62.42%. Multivariate Logistic Regression revealed significant association between immunization completion and being from Lango sub region compared to their counterparts who were from Karamoja (OR=0.386, 95% CI 0.21-0.71, P=0.003), Middle born children compared to the older born children (OR=0.604, 95% CI 0.40-0.92, P=0.018), and child living elsewhere compared to their counterparts who were living with the parents (OR=0.165, 95% CI 0.04-0.74, P=0.019). There was low complete immunisation coverage among children aged 12-23 months in Northern Uganda. Therefore, there is need for targeted interventions like regional specific solutions, sensitization, rights to medical attention for all children, and safe child custody so as to address the specific needs and challenges faced by different sub-groups of children and their families. Keywords: Childhood Immunization, Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, Northern Uganda