A Review of the Sociodemographic Characteristics of Children Immunized with the Rotavirus Vaccine in Adonai Hospital, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: There is a dearth of literature on existing rotavirus immunization services offered in Nigeria; with only very little information has been documented about it. This study aims to conduct a clinical audit of all children immunized with rotavirus vaccine in Adonai Hospital, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, north-central Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This study was a hospital-based study which adopted a retrospective study design. The population included in this study was children who had received rotavirus vaccine at Adonai Hospital. The study instrument was a data extraction form which obtained information about the sociodemographic data and clinical data of the children registered in the child immunization register. Only the data of all children immunized with rotavirus vaccine at the facility were obtained. Statistical Analysis Used: Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. Results: A total of 111 children had been immunized with rotavirus vaccine in the health facility, 51.4% of them were males, 20.7% were from Igbo ethnicity, 86.5% came from Christian families, and all were residing in urban areas. All the children were within the age of 6 weeks to 40 weeks as the time of rotavirus vaccination. The dropout rate for rotavirus vaccine among the immunized children was 17.1%. Only 2.7% of all the children that received the vaccine developed an adverse event following immunization (AEFI), of which all were minor AEFIs. Conclusions: This study recorded a low rate of AEFI among children immunized with rotavirus vaccine in Adonai Hospital. Furthermore, the observed dropout rate in our facility is relatively very low when compared with the general dropout rate observed among children receiving immunization services in Nigeria. Notwithstanding, we recommend that investigations need to be done to explore the reasons why some children have dropped out of the rotavirus vaccination program at the surveyed facility.