Association of Socio-Demographic Factors with Vaccination Status of Children at Gilgit Baltistan

Abstract

Objective: To assess the vaccination status of children at Gilgit Baltistan and the association of various socio-demographic factors with none or partial vaccination among these children. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatrics Combined Military Hospital Gilgit, from Oct 2020 to Mar 2021. Methodology: Children aged 15 months to 10 years presenting with any condition in the Pediatrics OPD were included in the study. Vaccination status regarding basic vaccines, included in the EPI of study participants was confirmed by vaccination card. Education of father, education of mother, type of family (joint or nuclear) and place of living (rural or urban) was correlated with vaccination status of children included in the study. Results: Out of 600 children presenting at the Pediatrics OPD, 390 (65%) patients were males, and 210 (35%) patients were females The mean age of the patients was 5.554 ± 3.85 years. 242 (40.3%) patients were vaccinated, 190 (31.7%) were partially vaccinated, while 168 (28%) patients were not vaccinated for basic vaccines included in the EPI. After applying the chi-square test, low education of father and mother, living in joint family and rural living were significantly related to non-vaccination or partial vaccination of children (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: A large group of children from Gilgit-Baltistan remained non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated even for the basic vaccines included in the EPI program. Children born in joint families, rural areas and parents with a low level of education had more chances of skipping the vaccines.