Determinants of complete immunization among senegalese children aged 12-23 months: evidence from the demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: The expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is one of the most cost-effective interventions to reduce childhood mortality and morbidity. However, determinants of childhood immunization have not been well studied in Senegal. Thus, the aim of our study is to assess routine immunization uptake and factors associated with full immunization status among Senegalese children aged 12-23 months. METHODS: We used the 2010-2011 Senegalese Demographic and Health Survey data. The DHS was a two stages cross-sectional survey carried out in 2010-2011. The analysis included 2199 children aged 12-23 months. The interviewers collected information on vaccine uptake based on information from vaccination cards or maternal recall Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions models were used to identify the determinants of full childhood immunization. RESULTS: The prevalence of complete immunization coverage among boys and girls based on both vaccination card information and mothers' recall was 62.8%. The immunization coverage as documented on vaccination cards was 37.5%. Specific coverage for the single dose of BCG at birth, the third dose of polio vaccine, the third dose of pentavalent vaccine and the first dose of measles vaccine were 94.7%, 72.7%, 82.6%, and 82.1%, respectively. We found that mothers who could show a vaccination card [AOR 7.27 95% CI (5.50-9.60)], attended at least secondary education level [AOR 1.8 95% CI (1.20-2.48)], attended four antenatal visits [AOR 3.10 95% CI (1.69-5.63)], or delivered at a health facility [AOR 1.27 95% CI (1-1.74)] were the predictors of full childhood immunization. Additionally, children living in the eastern administrative regions of the country were less likely to be fully vaccinated [AOR 0.62 95% CI (0.39-0.97)]. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the full immunization coverage among children aged between 12 and 23 months was below the national (> 80%) and international targets (90%). Geographic area, mother's characteristics, antenatal care and access to health care services were associated with full immunization. These findings highlight the need for innovative strategies based on a holistic approach to overcome the barriers to childhood immunization in Senegal.

Vaccination coverage and immunization timeliness among children aged 12-23 months in Senegal: a Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis approach.

INTRODUCTION: Expanded programme on immunizations in resource-limited settings currently measure vaccination coverage defined as the proportion of children aged 12-23 months that have completed their vaccination. However, this indicator does not address the important question of when the scheduled vaccines were administered. We assessed the determinants of timely immunization to help the national EPI program manage vaccine-preventable diseases and impact positively on child survival in Senegal. METHODS: Vaccination data were obtained from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) carried out across the 14 regions in the country. Children were aged between 12-23 months. The assessment of vaccination coverage was done with the health card and/or by the mother's recall of the vaccination act. For each vaccine, an assessment of delay in age-appropriate vaccination was done following WHO recommendations. Additionally, Kaplan-Meier survival function was used to estimate the proportion vaccinated by age and cox-proportional hazards models were used to examine risk factors for delays. RESULTS: A total of 2444 living children between 12-23 months of age were included in the analysis. The country vaccination was below the WHO recommended coverage level and, there was a gap in timeliness of children immunization. While BCG vaccine uptake was over 95%, coverage decreased with increasing number of Pentavalent vaccine doses (Penta 1: 95.6%, Penta 2: 93.5%: Penta 3: 89.2%). Median delay for BCG was 1.7 weeks. For polio at birth, the median delay was 5 days; all other vaccine doses had median delays of 2-4 weeks. For Penta 1 and Penta 3, 23.5% and 15.7% were given late respectively. A quarter of measles vaccines were not administered or were scheduled after the recommended age. Vaccinations that were not administered within the recommended age ranges were associated with mothers' poor education level, multiple siblings, low socio-economic status and living in rural areas. CONCLUSION: A significant delay in receipt of infant vaccines is found in Senegal while vaccine coverage is suboptimal. The national expanded program on immunization should consider measuring age at immunization or using seroepidemiological data to better monitor its impact.