Assessment of Vaccination Status Among Pediatrics in a Tertiary Care Setting

Abstract

Purpose: Vaccination is one of the best cost-effective methods for preventing childhood morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to identify children with missed and delayed vaccinations along with factors associated with incomplete vaccinations. Methodology: A prospective observational study was conducted for 7 months. Relevant data was collected through a face-to-face interview and immunization status was evaluated based on their vaccination card which was compared against UIP. Result: Out of 347 subjects, 93.94% of them were completely immunized and majority of the missed vaccines were measles 1st dose (58.82%), Japanese Encephalitis vaccine 1st dose (29.41%). Lack of access to health care, less contact of adolescents to physicians, missed opportunities for vaccination, resistance towards immunization and poor birth weight were the reasons identified for incomplete vaccination. Conclusion: Immunization is one of the biggest health accomplishments saving millions of lives. Our study concluded that most of the participants were completely immunized indicating a positive attitude towards immunization. However, further exploration is required to assess and improve the vaccination coverage among rural population.

Keywords

• vaccination
• immunization
• universal immunization program
• care-taker