Missed Immunization Opportunities among Children in Enugu.

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of the studywere to determine the overall rate of missed immunization opportunities at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu and to compare the rate in the preventive section of the institution with that in the curative section. Patients and Methods: A total of 398 children were studied; 200 from the preventive section and 198 from the curative section of the hospital. Exit interviews were conducted using a WHO protocol. Results: Sixty (15.1 percent) of the 398 children studied missed immunization opportunities. The 60 consisted of 11 (5.6 percent) of 200 seen in the preventive section and 49 (24.5 percent) of 198 seen in the curative section of the hospital. Conclusion: The rate of missed immunization opportunities is still unacceptably high, especially in the curative section of our institution. This is probably true of other health institutions in the country. In order to achieve significant reductions in the level of missed immunization opportunities among our children and thereby increase immunization coverage, we recommend that routine immunization should be introduced in the curative sections of health institutions.

Keywords

• missed
• immunization
• opportunities
• children