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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Pediatr Infect Dis 2022; 17(06): 282-288
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1756710
Original Article

Missed Opportunities: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study on Reasons for Nonadherence to the South African Expanded Program on Immunization

Roberta Edwin 
1   Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
,
Cheryl Mackay
1   Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
,
Siyazi Mda
2   Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
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Abstract

Objective Our objective was to identify factors which underline nonadherence to childhood immunizations provided by the Department of Health and outlined in the Expanded Program on Immunizations in South Africa.

Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Dora Nginza Hospital, a regional hospital in the Eastern Cape Province, which provides free health care in resource-limited settings. It included patients under the age of 5 years and their primary caregivers. A piloted questionnaire was used to collect data, and comparisons were made between children under the age of 5 years who missed one or more immunizations and those with complete immunizations. Data on maternal/caregiver and health system-related characteristics were also collected, and comparisons were made between the two groups.

Results Of the 200 participants enrolled in the study, 47 (23.5%) had incomplete immunizations. Prematurity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.33, p = 0.001), vaccine shortages (OR = 0.22, p < 0.005), and a low maternal/caregiver level of education (OR = 0.32, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with incomplete immunization status.

Conclusion Strategies to improve supply chain management of vaccines and to optimize follow-up care of high-risk children, specifically those born prematurely and those born to women of lower education level, need to be identified and implemented to reduce vaccine-preventable diseases.

Keywords

vaccine-preventable diseases - immunizations - missed opportunities - South Africa


Publication History

Received: 29 March 2022

Accepted: 03 August 2022

Article published online:
11 October 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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