141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

278632
Correlates of completing routine vaccination among children in Mysore, India

Monday, November 4, 2013

Soumyadeep Mukherjee, MBBS, DPH, PhD student , Dept. of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Karl Krupp, MPH , Department of Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Vijaya Srinivas , Public Health Research Institute of India, Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, India
Poornima Jaykrishna , Public Health Research Institute of India, Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, India
Reshma Shaheen , Public Health Research Institute of India, Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, India
Anjali Arun , Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, India
Bhavana Niranjakumar , Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, India
Purnima Madhivanan, MBBS MPH PhD , Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Background: India, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo accounted for 50% of the 19.3 million under-vaccinated children worldwide in 2010 (WHO). Overall immunization coverage in India was 61% in 2009 (UNICEF, Coverage Evaluation Survey). Few studies have explored the role of parental attitudes in vaccinating their children. This study explores the correlates of completion of routine vaccination among children in Mysore City, India. Methods: Between June 2009 and Aug 2010, a random sample of 800 school going girls were selected from 10 schools in Mysore city to take home surveys to be completed by their parents. Questions on sociodemographics and attitudes towards vaccination were included. Results: 797 (99.6%) surveys were completed from which 19 were excluded as consent form was not signed. 233(29.9%) of the 778 parents reported complete vaccinations of their children. Parents who had given optional vaccinations to their children (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 4.79; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 3.22, 7.12) and believed in vaccines' effectiveness (AOR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.53, 5.12) had higher odds, while those who believed that getting disease was better than getting vaccinated had lower odds (AOR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.9) of having their children receive full vaccine series after adjusting for other factors in the model. None of the other attitudinal factors and sociodemographic factors were associated with vaccine completion in multivariable analysis. Conclusions: The results show that belief in vaccines' effectiveness and a general favorable attitude towards vaccinations are important facilitators motivating parents to get their children fully vaccinated.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Epidemiology
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe a survey of routine vaccination coverage in an urban Indian sample. Identify the socio-demographic factors and parental attitudes that are associated with completing routine vaccination. List the potential facilitators and the barriers of routine vaccination in a developing nation.

Keywords: Developing Countries, Immunizations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have done Diploma in Public Health (DPH) and is currently a PhD student in Epidemiology. I have been involved in projects concerning children, adolescents and women in India. I have analyzed various primary and secondary data. Mental and behavioral health epidemiology, the psychosocial predictors of health behavior, social epidemiology and global health are some of my interest areas.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.