Abstract

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Immunization is the most important public health advance of the 20th century and the most cost-effective and a life-saving intervention. The public health initiative is to get 90% of the nation's children adequately immunized before their third birthday. OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion and determinants of incomplete vaccination among a sample of children aged less than two years in Baghdad city. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: A random sample of 11 Primary Health Care Centers in Baghdad city. Data Collection time: Feb/1st-May/31st / 2008 SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A systematic random sample of 562 children aged less than two years, living in Baghdad city, and attended the selected Primary Health Care Centers for various health complaints apart from immunization. Vaccination status of children was verified for their age and according to the national Expanded Program of Immunization. RESULTS: The proportion of incomplete vaccination was18.8%; 0.5% were completely non-vaccinated. The proportion of incomplete vaccination increased with increasing age (P=0.000). Males showed higher proportion of incomplete vaccination (24.1%) than females (14.2%) (P =0.003). The major proportion of incomplete vaccination was among children of illiterate mothers (43%) (P =0.000). The main causes of incomplete vaccination were immigration problem (46.23%), security problem (29.25%), and parent’s related problem (15%), and other causes (9%). CONCLUSION: Around one of every five children aged less than two years in Baghdad was incompletely vaccinated; immigration and security obstacles were the main causes of incomplete vaccination