What predicts complete immunisation among 18-month to 24-month-old children in the urban slum area of Hlaingthayar Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar? A cross-sectional study

Abstract

IntroductionIn Myanmar, there are significant disparities in the delivery of immunisation services and barriers to service accessibility, particularly in border regions, conflict-affected areas, physically and geographically hard-to-reach areas, urban slums and migratory populations. The study aimed to explore the predictors for complete immunisation among 18-month to 24-month-old children in the urban slum area of Hlaingthayar Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from 21 to 25 July 2018. A total of 298 mothers of 18-month to 24-month-old children were recruited from the urban slum areas under five randomly selected wards by applying the cluster sampling method. Multiple binary logistic regression was performed to explore the predictors for complete immunisation. A significance level of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsOut of a total of 298 children, 120 (40.3%) children were completely immunised, and the immunisation coverages ranged from 52.7% for the second dose of measles-rubella vaccine to 81.9% for the first dose of oral polio vaccine. Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that mothers having university and above education (AOR=2.65, 95% CI 1.07 to 6.56), mothers with permanent residency (AOR=2.19, 95% CI 1.16 to 4.15), primiparous mothers (AOR=1.76, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.95), mothers with medium knowledge (AOR=2.38, 95% CI 1.07 to 5.30) and high knowledge about childhood immunisation (AOR=5.89, 95% CI 2.23 to 15.60), and mothers with positive perception of childhood immunisation (AOR=2.26, 95% CI 1.33 to 3.85) were the significant predictors for complete immunisation among children.ConclusionThe proportion of complete immunisation was low, and associated with maternal education, residency, parity, knowledge and perception of childhood immunisation. Having a comprehensive understanding of these predictors will facilitate the government and other relevant stakeholders to establish effective strategies promoting access to immunisation services among the urban slum communities in Myanmar.