Factors associated with malaria vaccine uptake in Sunyani Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Background Malaria continues to be a major disease of public health concern affecting several million people worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) started a pilot study on a malaria vaccine (RTS,S) in Ghana and two other countries in 2019. This study aimed at assessing the factors associated with uptake of the vaccine in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study employing a quantitative approach. Stratified sampling technique was used to select respondents. A structured questionnaire was administered to parents/caregivers with children eligible to have taken the first three doses of the malaria vaccine by December 2019. The Child Welfare Clinic (CWC) cards of the eligible children were also inspected. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was done to determine the association between the independent variables and full vaccine uptake. Results Uptake of RTS,S 1 was 94.1%. However, this figure reduced to 90.6% for RTS,S 2, and 78.1% for RTS,S 3. Children with a parent who had been educated up to the tertiary level had 4.72 (AOR: 4.72, 95% CI 1.27–17.55) increased odds of full uptake as compared to those who completed secondary education. Parents whose children had experienced fever as an adverse reaction were more likely to send their children for the malaria vaccine as compared to those whose children had ever suffered abscess as an adverse reaction (AOR: 2.27, 95% CI 1.13–5.10). Children with parents who thought vaccines were becoming too many for children had 71% (AOR: 0.29, 95% CI 0.14–0.61) reduced odds of full uptake as compared to those who thought otherwise. Conclusion Uptake of RTS,S 1 and RTS,S 2 in Sunyani Municipality meets the WHO’s target coverage for vaccines, however, RTS,S 3 uptake does not. Furthermore, there is a growing perception amongst parents/caregivers that vaccines are becoming too many for children which negatively affects uptake.

Predictors of malaria vaccine uptake among children 6–24 months in the Kassena Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana

“…When the children immunization statuses were confirmed using vaccination cards and mothers recall method, it came to light through the study findings that, fully immunized coverage was high (94%) among the study participants. This figure is in line with WHO's Global Vaccine Action Plan which proposes that countries attain about 90 percent and districts attain about 80 percent fully immunized children by the year 2020 [16]. The findings from this study showed a comparatively similar results to a study in Sunyani [16] in the Bono Region of Ghana, which indicated that uptake of RTS,S first dose was 94.1 percent.…”

“…This figure is in line with WHO's Global Vaccine Action Plan which proposes that countries attain about 90 percent and districts attain about 80 percent fully immunized children by the year 2020 [16]. The findings from this study showed a comparatively similar results to a study in Sunyani [16] in the Bono Region of Ghana, which indicated that uptake of RTS,S first dose was 94.1 percent. Nonetheless, this figure declined to 90.6 percent for RTS,S second dose, and 78.1 percent for RTS,S third dose.…”

“…This study findings revealed similar output by Dimala et al [18], who indicated that the acceptance and uptake of the RTS,S vaccine may be improved if caregivers' perceptions about vaccines and their importance are adequately informed and supported through engagement and education. A study on the uptake of RTS,S vaccine conducted in Sunyani by Tabiri et al [16], found that Uptake of 1st and 2nd doses met WHO's target, however, the subsequent doses were low as a result of increasing negative perception in communities that injectable vaccines are becoming much more for children, which negatively affects uptake. This study found similar high uptake with kept dropping out as a result of missed opportunities due to vaccine shortages, competing health programmes and interventions.…”

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of caregiver acceptance of malaria vaccine for under-five children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs)

“…Our analysis included 11 studies with a total sample size of 14, 666 participants. A majority (n = 8) [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] of the studies were published on or after 2018, while the remaining (n = 3) [16][17][18] studies were published before 2018. The most recently published study wasin 2022, [23] and the oldest study was published in 2014 [16].…”

Perception and Awareness Towards Malaria Vaccine Policy Implementation in Nigeria by Health Policy Actors

“…Development of an antimalarial vaccine will be important for regional malaria elimination and future eradication effort. Malaria vaccine policy is a global effort and the vaccine has already been applied to a high number of children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi [14][15][16].…”