Adherence to immunization schedule among children attending a secondary level hospital in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Vaccine Preventable Diseases, major causes of childhood mortality in Nigeria, occur largely due to low vaccination uptake, weak health care system and inadequate personnel. Immunization and adherence to immunization schedules are important in ensuring maximum protection against vaccine-preventable diseases as it has been shown to prevent over 2 million deaths annually. These deaths occur mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria a major contributor of these deaths.

Objectives: The study assessed the adherence to immunization schedules and completion rates of scheduled and routine immunizations among children.

Method: Immunization records of 2,226 children who received their routine immunizations at the Child Welfare Clinic of the Vom Christian Hospital, Plateau State, Nigeria from July, 2011 to April, 2013 were examined. Data on date of birth, age at commencement of immunization, and the date of receipt of various vaccines were retrieved. The Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to determine deviations from range of mean ages at receipt of the various doses of the DPT and pentavalent vaccines.

Results: The result showed disparities between mean ages at receipt of all vaccine doses with recommended ages and a steady increase in drop-out between consecutive doses, with only a small percentage {10 % for Diptheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) and 8 % for Pentavalent vaccine} receiving up to the third doses. Also, that only a small number of the children were fully immunized (102 for DPT and 98 for pentavalent vaccine).

Conclusion: Adherence to routine immunization schedules was seen to be poor, with only a small percentage of the study population completing the required number of doses.