Factors influencing uptake of childhood Immunization Services among Caretakers of Children Aged 10-18 Months in Lira City

Abstract

Background: The routine immunization services in Uganda ensures that that by the time a child is celebrating the first birth day, complete vaccination is vaccination is achieved. The factors influencing uptake to the services has been rarely explored. This study investigated the factors influencing uptake of childhood immunization services in Lira city. Participants and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study which used quantitative method where data was obtained using a questionnaire from 420 caretakers of children aged 10—18 months who consented and had a child health card. Univariate analysis provided description of the variables while bivariate analysis compared the dependent variable with specific predictor variables to predict associations. Logistic regression model was used to identify significant factors influencing uptake of childhood vaccination (P-values less than 0.05). Results: The study result indicated that majority, 365(87.0%) of caretakers had their children fully immunized. The findings showed that caretakers who knew that vaccination starts immediately after birth were associated with increased odds of full childhood immunization (AOR: 5.65;95% CI: 1.82-17.55; p < 0.003). The study result also revealed information on next immunization appointments (AOR: 3.45;95% CI: 1.16-10.29; p < 0.03) and those given mosquito nets (AOR: 2.15;95% CI: 1.18-3.90; p < 0.01) were associated with increased odds of full childhood immunization Conclusion: These study findings indicated that high vaccination coverage was strongly associated with provision of health education on childhood vaccination and incentives to the caregivers. The health education provided adequate information for the caretakers about the importance of completing child’s vaccination. It is vital that local programmatic interventions should be put in place to strengthen these areas in order to improve uptake of routine immunization services by caretakers of children.