Assessment of risk factors associated with oral polio vaccine refusal in Rahim Yar Khan District, Pakistan (2017)

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with oral polio vaccine (OPV) refusal. Methodology: A case-control study was conducted in Rahim Yar Khan (RYK) District, Pakistan. A case was defined as “any child aged 1 km from a healthcare facility was significantly associated (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–4.4; p < 0.05) with OPV refusal, while prior visits by healthcare workers (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.06–0.22; p < 0.05) and mother’ education above primary level (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.24–0.73; p < 0.05) were inversely associated with OPV refusal. Conclusion: On the basis of our recommendations, door-to-door social mobilization visits by healthcare workers to alleviate fear, misconception, and fatigue of repeated campaigns and strict accountability mechanism were developed by district government at pre- and intra-campaign levels.

Keywords

• Oral polio vaccine
• Refusals
• Rahim Yar Khan
• Refusal rate
• National Immunization Days