Saidu Yauba, Gu Jessica, Michael Ngenge Budzi, Nchinjoh Sangwe Clovis, Adidja Amani, Edwidge Nnang, Muteh Nkwain, Mbanga Clarence, Ousmane Diaby, Njoh Andreas, Flegere Junie, Diack Demba, Montomoli Emanuele, Clemens Sue Ann Costa
Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc., Yaoundé P.O. Box 2664, Cameroon.
Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Vaccines (Basel). 2024 Dec 19;12(12):1430. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12121430.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A "people-centered" approach is one of the core principles of the Immunization Agenda (IA) 2030 and emphasizes the need for services to be organized around the needs and expectations of individuals and the community. A better understanding of the immunization experience from the client's perspective is key to guiding the design of policies and interventions aimed at improving immunization delivery and coverage. This study provides a synthesis of the immunization experiences of children's caregivers in Cameroon, highlighting potential barriers for timely and complete immunization.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, targeting caregivers of children brought to selected health facilities for immunization in all ten regions of Cameroon. Using structured questionnaires, data were collected from caregivers and analyzed using STATA version 13.
In total, 1230 caregivers were interviewed in 265 health facilities. The median age of participants was 27 years and the median number of children per caregiver was two children. Most (87%) of the study participants reported to be satisfied with immunization service delivery. The median waiting time for vaccination was 1 h 48 min, with regional median waiting times ranging from 18 min in the South region to 4 h 6 min in the North region. About a quarter (24%) of surveyed participants reported to have presented to a health facility for immunization services and were turned away without achieving the purpose for which they came at least once. About half (48%) of the caregivers had never heard about planned vaccination activities in their communities.
While most caregivers appeared to be satisfied with immunization service delivery in Cameroon, our study highlights some notable caregiver concerns (long waiting times, unproductive immunization visits and inadequate information about outreach activities) which, if addressed, may go a long way to enhance the immunization experience of caregivers in Cameroon, build trust in immunization services and thus improve vaccination uptake.
背景/目的：“以人民为中心”的方法是《2030年免疫议程》的核心原则之一，强调需要围绕个人和社区的需求与期望来组织服务。从客户角度更好地理解免疫接种体验是指导旨在改善免疫接种服务提供和覆盖率的政策及干预措施设计的关键。本研究综合了喀麦隆儿童看护者的免疫接种体验，突出了及时和全程免疫接种的潜在障碍。
开展了一项描述性横断面研究，目标是喀麦隆所有十个地区前往选定卫生设施进行免疫接种的儿童的看护者。使用结构化问卷从看护者那里收集数据，并使用STATA 13版进行分析。
在265个卫生设施中总共采访了1230名看护者。参与者的中位年龄为27岁，每名看护者的儿童中位数为两名。大多数（87%）研究参与者报告对免疫接种服务提供感到满意。接种疫苗的中位等待时间为1小时48分钟，各地区的中位等待时间从南部地区的18分钟到北部地区的4小时6分钟不等。约四分之一（24%）的受访参与者报告曾前往卫生设施寻求免疫接种服务，并且至少有一次未达成目的就被打发走了。约一半（48%）的看护者从未听说过其社区的计划免疫接种活动。
虽然喀麦隆的大多数看护者似乎对免疫接种服务提供感到满意，但我们的研究突出了一些看护者明显关心的问题（等待时间长、免疫接种就诊徒劳无功以及关于外展活动的信息不足），如果这些问题得到解决，可能会大大提升喀麦隆看护者的免疫接种体验，建立对免疫接种服务的信任，从而提高疫苗接种率。
