Publication:

Measles delay in India: the role of parents’ behaviour

Background Objectives were to identify the factors influencing the timeliness of measles immunisation in India, as well as to explore whether parental behaviour in health care seeking facilities varies depending on the gender of child.

Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken in India using secondary data from the fourth phase of the district level household and facility survey (DLHS 4). To estimate the age-specific coverage rates scientifically and thoroughly Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was applied. The risk factors for delayed measles immunisation were identified by using cox proportional hazard regression model.

Results Individual factors, social factors, awareness, and facilitatory factors all have a significant impact on the timeliness of measles immunisation in India. Additionally, it can also be concluded that in the case of a male child, institutional delivery significantly improves health-seeking behaviour among the parents compared to a female child.

Conclusions Numerous elements like the place of residence, economic position, and caste limit the timeliness of measles immunisation in India. Parents' health-seeking behaviour is also significant in the list of influential factors, like mother’s antenatal visit during pregnancy, the child's place of delivery, and motivation for child immunisation. In India child's gender and birth order discovered to have an impact on measles immunisation timeliness. Furthermore, we discovered that parents' health-seeking behaviour is not gender-neutral, but rather favours male child more.