Predictors of malaria vaccine uptake among children 6–24 months in the Kassena Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Dominic Yeboah, Joseph Owusu-Marfo, Yaa Nyarko Agyeman
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2022
• Subjects: RTS,S vaccine; Predictors; Vaccine uptake; Malaria; Ghana; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-022-04378-1; https://doaj.org/article/4db174e63c3f4e8d881d810efe72c512

Abstract Background The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) coordinates the routine implementation of the RTS,S vaccine pilot in strategically selected locations in Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana. The pilot programme thoroughly assesses the programmatic feasibility of administering the four doses of the RTS,S vaccine. It will also assess the impact on malaria morbidity and mortality, as well as monitor and detect the vaccine's safety for routine usage. The malaria vaccine was introduced into Ghana's routine vaccination programme in May 2019 in seven regions, comprising 42 districts, including Kassena Nankana Municipal in the Upper East region of Ghana. Therefore, this study seeks to assess the predictors of the malaria vaccine uptake in children 6 to 24 months in the Kassena Nankana Municipal in Ghana. Methods The survey used a cross-sectional study design and included 422 mothers/caregivers with children aged 6 to 24 months from the Kassena Nankana Municipality. WHO cluster survey questionnaire was altered for use in data gathering with caregivers as respondents. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 (for descriptive statistics) and Stata version 13 (for calculating odds ratios) were used to analyse the data. Results The findings depict that, the mean age of respondents for the study was 27 ± 5 years and average age of children was 15 ± 8 months. The study found that coverage uptake was high (94%). Chi-square and odds ratios testing revealed statistically significant associations between health service factors and vaccine uptake: education on malaria vaccine cOR(Cl); 9.69(3.496–25.425), (P < 0.001), giving caregivers the option to accept malaria vaccine cOR(Cl); 7.04 (2.759–17.476), (P < 0.001). Confidence in the efficiency of the vaccination was found to have a statistically significant association with malaria vaccine uptake (P < 0.005) and (p < 0.001) for ‘somewhat confidence’ and ‘not confidence at all’, respectively. Attitude of health workers was found to be ...