ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To achieve effective prevention of vaccine preventable diseases, it is expected that vaccination coverage should be at least 90%, dropout rate must be less than 10% and the immunization services rendered must be of high quality. This study determined the immunization coverage and client satisfaction with immunization services in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.
METHODS: The study was carried out among 420 mother-child pairs of children 12- 23 months old in Ovia South West Local Government Area. Respondents were chosen using the World Health Organization's vaccination cluster sampling approach and the study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. Data was collected using a modified interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data was analysed with IBM SPSS version 25.0 software, and a significance level of 0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: Full immunization coverage was 182 (43.3%), with BCG having the highest antigen coverage of 352 (83.3%) and IPV of 242 (57.6%) as the least. BCG to Measles drop-out rate was 25.3%, while Penta 1 to Penta 3 drop-out rates was 22.9%. Overall, client satisfaction was good, 363 (86.4%). Delivery in a health facility, number of immunization visits, possession of a vaccination card, good knowledge, attitude towards and client satisfaction of immunization services were significant predictors of full vaccination status.
CONCLUSION: The study revealed that full immunization coverage was low and fell short of the 90% target set by UNICEF in 2021. Drop-out rates were high while client satisfaction with immunization services was good. Health education of mothers preferably in their local dialect on the benefits and importance of immunization and safe keeping of their children road to health cards should continuously be carried out by health care workers in order to improve immunization coverage.
Keywords: Vaccination, Immunization coverage, Drop-out rates, Client satisfaction, Immunization services, Mothers, Children aged 12 – 23 months.
