Publication:

Influence of maternal factors on the immunization status of under- five in Ebonyi state

Background Poor delivery of childhood immunization with the interacting factors has been a significant public health challenge especially in the sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria has been presented as one the countries with the worst under-five mortality rates, and factors affecting childhood immunization including maternal factors are poorly understood. The study determined the influence of maternal characteristics and immunization status of under-five children in Ebonyi State.

Methods Data were collected using an Immunization Status Checklist (ISC). The population of the study was 572,955 under-five children in Ebonyi State from which 2865 was sampled. Data were analyzed using percentages and chi-square.

Results The findings of the study revealed that 83.01% of under-5 children were fully immunized. The chi-square analysis shows a significant influence of mothers’ parity at (p<0.05), mothers’ occupation at (p<0.05) and mothers’ use of antenatal services at (p<0.05).

Conclusions The study concluded that immunization status of under-five children in Ebonyi State was high and maternal characteristics had significant influence on immunization status of under-five children. Thus, recommended that government should provide tangible incentives to mothers who fully immunized their children and promulgate a law to prevent children without immunization cards showing full immunization from registering in public and private primary schools.