Uptake of immunization of children under- five among caregivers attending child-welfare clinic at the Barekese Health Centre

Abstract

ckground According to the United Nations International Children‟s Emergency Fund (UNICEF, 2016) vaccines can prevent around one third of mortalities among children under 5. Despite efforts by world organizations, governments and policy makers, this vision of reducing child mortalities can be partly achieved if caregivers have thorough understanding of the need to develop interest in immunizing their children against childhood diseases. It is upon this goal of UNICEF that the researcher decided to assess the knowledge and uptake of immunization of under-5 children among caregivers in Barekese. Methodology This cross sectional study was carried out on caregivers attending immunization inBarekesse health center; a rural health facilities in Barekese. A total of 240 children aged <5 years and their mothers or caregivers were included in the present study. Data were collected by using a pre-tested, interviewer administered questionnaire. Bivariate analysis was employed to identify factors associated with uptake of immunization and multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for those factors that showed statistically significant association in bivariate analysis and investigate independent predictors by controlling for possible confounders and significances of all tests were decided at p-value of 0.05. Results Mean (±SD) age of the caregivers were 28.41 ±6.34 years. Sixty-five percentage (65.00%) of caregivers had good knowledge on immunization. Knowledge level of caregivers were significantly associated with uptake of immunization (AOR=3.52, CI=1.89-6.57, p-value=<0.000). The topmost sources of information revealed byvi caregivers were hospital/health centers/clinics and CHPS (97.08%), radio (37.92%) and neighbors / relatives/friends (24.58%).Distance to health center (AOR=0.25, CI=0.08- 0.72, p-value=0.011) and work schedule of the caregivers (AOR=0.23, CI=0.09-0.58, pvalue=0.002) were significant perceived challenges to immunization uptake. Conclusion Vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions. In the present study, the researcher found that knowledge was a determinant of uptake of immunization. Perceived challenges such as distance to the health center and work scheduled of caregivers were also a significant challenge to immunization uptake