Factors influencing attendance to immunization sessions for children in a rural district of Ghana.
Acta Trop
; 68(3): 259-67, 1997 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9492910
ABSTRACT
PIP: Although childhood immunization has been a major national development goal in Ghana since the late 1970s, coverage rates remain low. In 1992, coverage for the third dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) was 43% for children under 12 months of age. The present study, conducted in August 1993, used focus group discussions and interviews with 469 mothers of children under 2 years of age, 17 service providers, and 10 heads of health-related sectors, to investigate factors influencing attendance to immunization sessions in Ghana's Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem District. 73% of mothers reported they attended child welfare clinics regularly. The main factors motivating mothers to attend were the perceived benefits of immunization for disease prevention, its impact on socioeconomic development, the relatively low cost of disease prevention, and the need for vaccination cards for school entry. The major factors hindering attendance were poor knowledge about immunization, lack of suitable venues and furniture at outreach clinics, financial difficulties, long waiting times, transportation problems, poorly motivated service providers, and weak intersectoral collaboration. The timing of immunization sessions, length of advance notice to the community, attitude of service providers, and fear of side effects generally did not deter attendance. Attention to the obstacles to compliance with childhood immunization schedules is essential if Ghana is to achieve the goal of 80% coverage by the year 2000.
Palabras clave
Africa; Africa South Of The Sahara; Age Factors; Child Health Services; Clinic Visits; Data Collection; Delivery Of Health Care; Demographic Factors; Developing Countries; English Speaking Africa; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Focus Groups; Ghana; Health; Health Personnel; Health Services; Immunization; Infant; Maternal-child Health Services; Mothers; Obstacles; Organization And Administration; Parents; Population; Population Characteristics; Primary Health Care; Program Activities; Programs; Research Methodology; Research Report; Rural Population; Sampling Studies; Service Statistics; Studies; Surveys; Western Africa; Youth
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Aceptación de la Atención de Salud
/
Inmunización
Tipo de estudio:
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Trop
Año:
1997
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Ghana
Pais de publicación:
Países Bajos