Inequities and Barriers to Routine Immunization Coverage in Urban and Rural Areas of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Child mortality has remained a major challenge in developing countries. Annually, many children <5 years of age die prematurely due to vaccine-preventable diseases. In South Asia, Pakistan has struggled to achieve global standards of vaccination. Objective: Therefore, we sought to determine barriers to vaccination coverage among children aged 12–23 months and inequities in rural and urban settings of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the rural and urban settings of the Sindh province of Pakistan. A 30-cluster household survey was conducted following the WHO guidelines, and 300 children were recruited from each study setting: Lyari, Karachi (urban area) and Umerkot (rural area). Information on the pretested questionnaire was obtained from consenting parents of the children in the study area. The multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants of vaccination. Results: In total, 600 children from both urban and rural settings were included in the analysis. The mean age was 17.70 months (SD, 3.46), and 50.2% children in the study were boys. Overall, 62.8% children were vaccinated in both settings. Moreover, ~80.3% children were fully vaccinated in the urban part compared with 45.3% in the rural part. The dropout rates for BCG and measles 1 were 17% and 29% in urban and rural areas, respectively. The dropout rates for Penta 1 to Penta 3 were 7% in Lyari and 38% in Umerkot. The penta 1–measles 1 dropout rates were 15% in Lyari and 37% in Umerkot. In multivariable analysis, parental knowledge about vaccination (OR, 9.77; 95% CI, 1.76–54.28), access to a vaccination center (OR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.19–5.26) and mother’s tetanus vaccination: 1 dose (aOR, 4.27; 95% CI, 1.84–9.93) and 2 doses (OR, 12.43; 95% CI, 7.71–20.04) were associated with vaccination. Conclusions: We identified inequities in vaccination status among the populations of rural and urban areas of Pakistan. Vaccination coverage was higher in an urban setting than in a rural setting of Sindh province. Parental knowledge about vaccination, access to a vaccination center, and mother’s tetanus vaccination status were the major factors of low vaccination coverage among these children.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None