Effect of peer education on timeliness and completeness of routine immunization: An assessment in rural communities in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Most children in developing countries who start routine immunization do not complete it; this reduces the efficacy of vaccines received. This study set out to assess the effect of Peer Education on timeliness and completeness of routine immunization among children of rural communities in North-Central Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling was used to select Mother-Child pairs. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection during the pre- and post peer education intervention. Chi-square test was used to determine any statistical association while Logistic  Regression test was done to evaluate predictive factors for a child being fully immunized; with p-value of £0.05 considered significant.  Pre-intervention showed that most respondents had immunized their
children in a timely way (study group, 55.4%; control, 50.8%), while post-intervention indicated a statistically significant increase in timeliness of vaccination amongst the study group. However, residing at a location less than 30-minute walking distance from the immunization point was observed to be the most predictive factor for being fully immunized. It was therefore concluded, that Peer Education is an effective way of improving timeliness and completeness of routine immunization and this should be expanded by health workers.

Key words: Immunization, Intervention, Completeness, Timeliness, Peer education.