Determinants of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine uptake among children attending immunization services at Kenyatta national hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

Pneumonia is the leading cause of child mortality worldwide. Statistics have shown that pneumococcal infections kill approximately one million children worldwide (WHO, 2009). Routine childhood vaccination reduces the burden of pneumococcal disease in children (Reed, 2011). Since the introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) a group of investigators have found a 69% drop in rate of invasive pneumococcal disease in children less than one year old. This was a cross-sectional hospital-based quantitative and qualitative study conducted in Maternal Child Health (MCH) clinic and pediatric wards of KNH It involved parents/caregivers (n= 66) bringing their children to the hospital and (n=37) caregivers of children admitted. The main objective of this study was to establish the determinants of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine uptake among children brought to Kenyatta national Hospital. Simple random sampling was used to identify parents/guardian of children aged below two years. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from the correspondents. Key informant interview with nurse in-charges was also conducted. Data were analyzed USlJ1gsoftware Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0. Research results were presented in frequency distribution tables, graphs pie charts and other forms of descriptive statistics. Income p=O.OI, parity=0.03, education level p=O.Ol, age p=0.04 and occupation P=O-OII of the caregivers showed statistical significance with vaccine uptake. Also a friendly attitude from health personnel was shown to motivate parents/guardians' adherence to vaccination schedules. Government should develop an education package to educate the public on the availability and benefits of the vaccine to increase awareness to the public .Education of the girl child should be emphasized as the current study found that those with secondary level of education and higher were more likely to accept their children to receive PVC.