Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Kesmonds International University, Cameroon.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 26;17(8):e0273515. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273515. eCollection 2022.
The routine vaccination card is an important health record for children, but recent findings suggest that vaccination card retention in Cameroon is low, varying from 29%-53%. The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with children's routine vaccination card retention in Cameroon.
This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Yaoundé in November 2021, targeting children aged 0-59 months. Participants were selected using a 2-stage systematic cluster sampling in which households were selected by a restricted sampling technique. Data were collected by interviewing the children's parents/guardians, and a vaccination card was said to be retained if it was presented to the interviewer by the interviewees. Data were analysed using multiple logistics regression with R version 4.1.0 (2021-05-18).
A total of 529 households were assessed with 361 children aged 0-59 months enrolled: 51% girls and 49% boys. Children aged 0-11 months represented 24.4% of all participants, and children aged 12-59 months were 74.6%. Vaccination card retention was 24% (87), and positive predictors of card retention included: girl child (adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.34, p-value = 0.0269), the respondent being one of the biological parents of the child: mother (adjusted Odds Ratio = 5.97, p-value = 0.0034) or father(adjusted Odds Ratio = 4.69, p-value = 0.0067), and living in a richer household (adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.56, p-value = 0.038). On the other hand, negative predictors of card retention were: child aged 12-23 months (adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.44, p-value = 0.0209) or aged 24-59months (adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.13, p-value = 0.0000), and having an employed mother (adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.34, p-value = 0.0066).
Vaccination card retention in children aged 0-59 months in Yaoundé is low when compared with findings reported by studies from other locations in Cameroon. Besides, the poor and older children have lower odds of keeping routine vaccination cards. There is a need to design interventions to improve vaccination card retention, which considers household wealth and the age of the child.
常规接种卡是儿童的重要健康记录，但最近的研究结果表明，喀麦隆的疫苗接种卡保留率较低，为 29%-53%。本研究旨在评估喀麦隆儿童常规疫苗接种卡保留率的相关因素。
本横断面调查于 2021 年 11 月在雅温得进行，以 0-59 月龄儿童为研究对象。采用 2 阶段系统聚类抽样选择参与者，以限制抽样技术选择家庭。通过对儿童的父母/监护人进行访谈收集数据，如果访谈对象向访谈者出示了接种卡，则认为接种卡被保留。使用 R 版本 4.1.0（2021-05-18）进行多逻辑回归分析。
共评估了 529 户家庭，其中 361 名 0-59 月龄的儿童入组：51%为女孩，49%为男孩。0-11 月龄儿童占所有参与者的 24.4%，12-59 月龄儿童占 74.6%。疫苗接种卡保留率为 24%（87 例），卡保留的阳性预测因素包括：女孩（调整优势比=1.34，p 值=0.0269）、受访者为儿童的亲生父母之一：母亲（调整优势比=5.97，p 值=0.0034）或父亲（调整优势比=4.69，p 值=0.0067），以及生活在较富裕家庭（调整优势比=1.56，p 值=0.038）。另一方面，卡保留的负面预测因素包括：12-23 月龄（调整优势比=0.44，p 值=0.0209）或 24-59 月龄（调整优势比=0.13，p 值=0.0000）儿童，以及有就业母亲（调整优势比=0.34，p 值=0.0066）。
与喀麦隆其他地区的研究结果相比，雅温得 0-59 月龄儿童的疫苗接种卡保留率较低。此外，贫困和年龄较大的儿童保留常规疫苗接种卡的可能性较低。需要设计干预措施来提高疫苗接种卡的保留率，考虑家庭财富和儿童年龄等因素。
