Factors associated with correct vaccination among children aged 24 to 48 months hospitalized in the national hospitals of Bujumbura

In Africa, although vaccines are often available free of charge in health facilities, many children evade various strategies put in place to reach them. In recent years, despite Burundi maintaining high coverage in all antigens (over 80% since the launch of the PEV in 1980), performance has begun to decline. From 2015 to 2017, all coverage rates experienced a slight regression, and the WHO/UNICEF figures for 2018 confirm this downward trend. The objective of this work is to contribute to the reduction of infant morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases by identifying factors associated with correct vaccination among children aged 24 to 48 months hospitalized in national hospitals in Bujumbura.

Methodology

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 4 national hospitals in Burundi. A sample of 216 children was selected, and the collected data were entered into Epinfo 7.2 software and transferred to Stata 15 for analysis. Three types of analyses were performed: descriptive analysis, univariate logistic regression, and multivariate logistic regression. After modeling, variables with a p-value <0.05 were considered associated with correct vaccination.

Results

Out of 216 children, correct vaccination was observed in 64.81%. The average age of mothers was 29.4 ± 5.43 years, ranging from 15 to 45 years. Factors significantly associated with correct vaccination after modeling were: husband’s level of education [OR = 15.41; P = 0.021], household income [OR = 10.23; P = 0.021], distance from residence to vaccination facility [OR = 0.12; P = 0.000], and mothers’ knowledge levels of vaccine-preventable diseases [OR = 1.73; P = 0.004]. The model was well-calibrated (the p-value of the Lemeshow test is 0.6697) with a 90% capacity to correctly classify observations.

Conclusion

The study’s results indicate that children are not properly vaccinated despite the service being free. Various factors influencing correct vaccination status were identified, including the level of education of the head of the household, income level, distance to vaccination facilities, and mothers’ knowledge of vaccine-preventable diseases. It is essential to implement interventions targeting these factors associated with correct vaccination to reduce morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases.