TY - JOUR AU - Kumar, Devendra AU - Aggarwal, Anju AU - Gomber, Sunil PY - 2010/07/21 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Immunization Status of Children Admitted to a Tertiary-care Hospital of North India: Reasons for Partial Immunization or Non-immunization JF - Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition JA - J Health Popul Nutr VL - 28 IS - 3 SE - Short Report DO - 10.3329/jhpn.v28i3.5560 UR - https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/JHPN/article/view/5560 SP - 300-304 AB - Reasons for the low coverage of immunization vary from logistic ones to those dependent on human<br />behaviour. The study was planned to find out: (a) the immunization status of children admitted to a<br />paediatric ward of tertiary-care hospital in Delhi, India and (b) reasons for partial immunization and nonimmunization.<br />Parents of 325 consecutively-admitted children aged 12-60 months were interviewed using<br />a semi-structured questionnaire. A child who had missed any of the vaccines given under the national<br />immunization programme till one year of age was classified as partially-immunized while those who had<br />not received any vaccine up to 12 months of age or received only pulse polio vaccine were classified as<br />non-immunized. Reasons for partial/non-immunization were recorded using open-ended questions. Of<br />the 325 children (148 males, 177 females), 58 (17.84%) were completely immunized, 156 (48%) were<br />partially immunized, and 111 (34.15%) were non-immunized. Mothers were the primary respondents in<br />84% of the cases. The immunization card was available with 31.3% of the patients. All 214 partially- or<br />completely-immunized children received BCG, 207 received OPV/DPT1, 182 received OPV/DPT2, 180<br />received OPV/DPT3, and 115 received measles vaccines. Most (96%) received pulse polio immunization,<br />including 98 of the 111 non-immunized children. The immunization status varied significantly (p&lt;0.05)<br />with sex, education of parents, urban/rural background, route and place of delivery. On logistic regression,<br />place of delivery [odds ratio (OR): 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-4.1], maternal education (OR=6.94,<br />95% CI 3.1-15.1), and religion (OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.2-3.1) were significant (p&lt;0.05). The most common<br />reasons for partial or non-immunization were: inadequate knowledge about immunization or subsequent<br />dose (n=140, 52.4%); belief that vaccine has side-effects (n=77, 28.8%); lack of faith in immunization (n=58,<br />21.7%); or oral polio vaccine is the only vaccine required (n=56, 20.9%. Most (82.5%) children admitted<br />to a tertiary-care hospital were partially immunized or non-immunized. The immunization status needs<br />to be improved by education, increasing awareness, and counselling of parents and caregivers regarding<br />immunizations and associated misconceptions as observed in the study.<br /><br /><strong>Key words: </strong>Child; Immunization; Vaccination; India<br /><br />DOI: 10.3329/jhpn.v28i3.5560<br /><br />J HEALTH POPUL NUTR 2010 Jun;28(3):300-304 ER -