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Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya

Received: 21 October 2014     Accepted: 7 November 2014     Published: 27 November 2014
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Abstract

Background: Immunization contributes significantly to the achievement of millennium development goal number 4 and is one of the eight elements of primary health care. Effective utilization of immunization services is associated with improved child health outcomes. WHO targets immunization coverage of 90% for urban areas and 80% for rural areas. Most rural areas in remote counties of Kenya fall short of this target precipitating high mortality rates from immunisable diseases. Objectives: The main objective is to determine the utilization of immunization services by children under five in Kacheliba Division. The specific objectives were to determine the level of utilization of immunization services and economic and socio-cultural factors influencing utilization of immunization services. Methods: This was descriptive cross-sectional study involving use of quantitative techniques carried out in Kacheliba division, Pokot North District, Kenya. Kacheliba division, which has 4 locations, was selected through purposive sampling. In every location, a household that met inclusion criteria was selected by systematic sampling (every Kth household). The guardian or mother was interviewed and household’s demographic, socioeconomic and immunization status of children recorded in a structured questionnaire. Children’ immunization cards or booklets and BCG scar mark were scrutinized as well as the mother’s or guardian’s verbal verification. All the 8 health facilities in Kacheliba division were visited and their cold chain facilities assessed. Quantitative data was analyzed using stata version 12 special edition. Results: The study covered 381 children in 164 household. There were 178 boys and 203 girls with a mean age of 28.3 months. 41.7% of children were fully immunized with 59.8% measles vaccine uptake. Except for the level of education and age, respondents’ socioeconomic and cultural factors were not significantly associated with vaccine uptake. Conclusion: The proportion of fully immunized children was far below the WHO’s target of 80%. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were not significant predictors of immunization services uptake except age and education level. Therefore, it is recommended that educational and flexible frequent outreach programs on immunization services should be carried out among the Kacheliba residents to improve utilization of immunization services.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29
Page(s) 617-623
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Immunization, Utilization, Essential Vaccines, Socio-Cultural Factors

References
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[2] United Nations Children’s Education Funds (2005): The state of Worlds Children; “Childhood under threat”. UNICEF New York
[3] Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2008/2009): Maternal and Child Health, pg.136-140
[4] WHO/UNICEF Coverage estimates 1980-2006, August, 2007.
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[6] Wagstaff A. (2002) Poverty and Health Sector Inequalities. World Health Organization Vol. 80 No.2
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[8] Hersh B.S., L.E. Markowitz, E.F Maes (1992): The geographical distribution of measles in United States, 1980-1989. 267:1936-1941
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[10] Novorty T., C. C., Jennings, M. Doran (1988). Measles outbreak in religious groups, excepts from immunization laws. Public health Rep, 103: 49-54.
[11] Victoria C.G., J. Vaughnan, F. Barros, A. Silva, E. Tomasi (2003): Explaining trends in inequalities, evidence from Brazilian child health studies.
[12] Kabir M., B. Ahmadu (2006): Knowledge, Perception and beliefs about Childhood immunization and attitude towards uptake of Poliomyelitis immunization in Nigeria.
[13] World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Education Funds (2008): Review of National Immunization coverage 1980-2007. WHO/UNICEF Geneva.
[14] Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2003): Maternal and Child Health
[15] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics report, 2009
[16] Ministry of Health. C=Division of Vaccines and Immunization Report. 2007
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[22] Streatfield K. and Singarimbun,M. Social factors Affecting use of immunization in Indonesia.(1988). Social science and medicine 27(11):1237-45
[23] Juliandi Harahap. Factors affecting childhood immunization in North Sumatra province, Indonesia.Thesis ISBN 974 664 603-6
[24] Bhuiya A., I. Bhuiya and M. Chomdhury. Factors affecting of immunization among children in Rural Bangladesh (1995). Health Policy and Planning. 10:3, 304-311
[25] Quinely J.Y. Burhannudin, A.Syaifuddin, M.Udin and A. Iskandar (1991). Maternal tetanus immunization in Acech Province, Sumatra. The cost effectiveness of the alternative strategies. Social Science and Medicine. 33:2, 185-192
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Koskei Alfred, Simiyu Tabu, Paul Kisia Malalu, Irene Marete, Robert Too, et al. (2014). Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(6), 617-623. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29

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    ACS Style

    Koskei Alfred; Simiyu Tabu; Paul Kisia Malalu; Irene Marete; Robert Too, et al. Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(6), 617-623. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29

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    AMA Style

    Koskei Alfred, Simiyu Tabu, Paul Kisia Malalu, Irene Marete, Robert Too, et al. Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(6):617-623. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29,
      author = {Koskei Alfred and Simiyu Tabu and Paul Kisia Malalu and Irene Marete and Robert Too and Koskei K. Peter and Constance Tenge},
      title = {Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {617-623},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140206.29},
      abstract = {Background: Immunization contributes significantly to the achievement of millennium development goal number 4 and is one of the eight elements of primary health care. Effective utilization of immunization services is associated with improved child health outcomes. WHO targets immunization coverage of 90% for urban areas and 80% for rural areas. Most rural areas in remote counties of Kenya fall short of this target precipitating high mortality rates from immunisable diseases.  Objectives: The main objective is to determine the utilization of immunization services by children under five in Kacheliba Division. The specific objectives were to determine the level of utilization of immunization services and economic and socio-cultural factors influencing utilization of immunization services. Methods: This was descriptive cross-sectional study involving use of quantitative techniques carried out in Kacheliba division, Pokot North District, Kenya. Kacheliba division, which has 4 locations, was selected through purposive sampling. In every location, a household that met inclusion criteria was selected by systematic sampling (every Kth household). The guardian or mother was interviewed and household’s demographic, socioeconomic and immunization status of children recorded in a structured questionnaire. Children’ immunization cards or booklets and BCG scar mark were scrutinized as well as the mother’s or guardian’s verbal verification. All the 8 health facilities in Kacheliba division were visited and their cold chain facilities assessed. Quantitative data was analyzed using stata version 12 special edition. Results: The study covered 381 children in 164 household. There were 178 boys and 203 girls with a mean age of 28.3 months. 41.7% of children were fully immunized with 59.8% measles vaccine uptake.  Except for the level of education and age, respondents’ socioeconomic and cultural factors were not significantly associated with vaccine uptake. Conclusion: The proportion of fully immunized children was far below the WHO’s target of 80%. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were not significant predictors of immunization services uptake except age and education level. Therefore, it is recommended that educational and flexible frequent outreach programs on immunization services should be carried out among the Kacheliba residents to improve utilization of immunization services.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Utilization of Essential Immunization Services among Children under Five Years Old in Kacheliba Division, Pokot County, Kenya
    AU  - Koskei Alfred
    AU  - Simiyu Tabu
    AU  - Paul Kisia Malalu
    AU  - Irene Marete
    AU  - Robert Too
    AU  - Koskei K. Peter
    AU  - Constance Tenge
    Y1  - 2014/11/27
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 617
    EP  - 623
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.29
    AB  - Background: Immunization contributes significantly to the achievement of millennium development goal number 4 and is one of the eight elements of primary health care. Effective utilization of immunization services is associated with improved child health outcomes. WHO targets immunization coverage of 90% for urban areas and 80% for rural areas. Most rural areas in remote counties of Kenya fall short of this target precipitating high mortality rates from immunisable diseases.  Objectives: The main objective is to determine the utilization of immunization services by children under five in Kacheliba Division. The specific objectives were to determine the level of utilization of immunization services and economic and socio-cultural factors influencing utilization of immunization services. Methods: This was descriptive cross-sectional study involving use of quantitative techniques carried out in Kacheliba division, Pokot North District, Kenya. Kacheliba division, which has 4 locations, was selected through purposive sampling. In every location, a household that met inclusion criteria was selected by systematic sampling (every Kth household). The guardian or mother was interviewed and household’s demographic, socioeconomic and immunization status of children recorded in a structured questionnaire. Children’ immunization cards or booklets and BCG scar mark were scrutinized as well as the mother’s or guardian’s verbal verification. All the 8 health facilities in Kacheliba division were visited and their cold chain facilities assessed. Quantitative data was analyzed using stata version 12 special edition. Results: The study covered 381 children in 164 household. There were 178 boys and 203 girls with a mean age of 28.3 months. 41.7% of children were fully immunized with 59.8% measles vaccine uptake.  Except for the level of education and age, respondents’ socioeconomic and cultural factors were not significantly associated with vaccine uptake. Conclusion: The proportion of fully immunized children was far below the WHO’s target of 80%. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were not significant predictors of immunization services uptake except age and education level. Therefore, it is recommended that educational and flexible frequent outreach programs on immunization services should be carried out among the Kacheliba residents to improve utilization of immunization services.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

  • School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

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