Factors Affecting Immunization Status of Children Aged From 0-59 Months in Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Immunization is the process of stimulating the body’s immunity against certain infectious diseases by administering vaccines. It is one of the main health interventions to prevent childhood morbidity and mortality. Objective: The objectives of the study were to determine the immunization coverage among children of aged 0-59 months old towards eight vaccine preventable diseases, to assess demographic and socio economic factors affecting immunization status among children aged 0-59 months and to assess the effect of media on immunization and vaccination status of children. Subjects and Methods: The data for this study were obtained from the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) on the 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The 2011 EDHS was the third national demographic and health survey conducted by CSA. The 2011 EDHS was conducted with the primary objective of generating health and demographic information on infant health and children vaccination, family planning, adult and maternal mortality, child and maternal nutrition, malaria, women’s empowerment, and knowledge of HIV/AIDS along with other household characteristics in the nine regions and two administrative regions both at rural and urban levels. The nationally representative EDHS 2011 data was collected under the guidance of the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia. Interviews were conducted with 16515 women, 14110 men and 11654 children (0-59 months). The data was analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20 and Stata version 11. Results: The highest rate (75.5%) of children vaccinated was observed for mothers in the age group 45-49. On the other hand the lowest rate (59.8%) of vaccinated children was observed from mothers in the age group 15-19. The result of study reviled that mothers’ age in 5-year groups, place of residence, mothers’ education level, region, religion, frequency of listening to radio, wealth index and birth order are the most important factors of child vaccination status in Ethiopia. Conclusion: Mothers who had higher education, aged 40-44, live in urban, live in Tigray, and listen radio at least once a week are more likely to vaccinate their children. Being the first child for parents is more likely to be vaccinated than being fifth and above order. The health offices should work properly to raise the awareness of parents for vaccination by designing proper health education.