Factors associated with measles vaccination status in children under the age of three years in a post-soviet context: a cross-sectional study using the DHS VII in Armenia

Abstract

Background The resurgence of measles globally and the increasing number of unvaccinated clusters call for studies exploring factors that influence measles vaccination uptake. Armenia is a middle-income post-Soviet country with an officially high vaccination coverage. However, concerns about vaccine safety are common. The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of measles vaccination coverage in children under three years of age and to identify factors that are associated with measles vaccination in Armenia by using nationally representative data. Methods Cross-sectional analysis using self-report data from the most recent Armenian Demographic Health Survey (ADHS VII 2015/16) was conducted. Among 588 eligible women with a last-born child aged 12–35 months, 63 women were excluded due to unknown status of measles vaccination, resulting in 525 women included in the final analyses. We used logistic regression models in order to identify factors associated with vaccination status in the final sample. Complex sample analyses were used to account for the study design. Results In the studied population 79.6% of the children were vaccinated against measles. After adjusting for potential confounders, regression models showed that the increasing age of the child (AOR 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03–1.12), secondary education of the mothers (AOR 3.38, 95% CI: 1.17–9.76) and attendance at postnatal check-up within two months after birth (AOR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.17–6.30) were significantly associated with the vaccination status of the child. Conclusions The measles vaccination coverage among the children was lower than the recommended percentage. The study confirmed the importance of maternal education and attending postnatal care visits. However, the study also showed that there might be potential risks for future measles outbreaks because of delayed vaccinations and a large group of children with an unknown vaccination status.

Measles second dose vaccine uptake and its associated factors among children aged 24–35 months in Northwest Ethiopia, 2022

“…In this study, mothers with postnatal care visit at health institution had more 4 times more likely to vaccinate their children for measles second dose vaccine than their counterparts. This is consistent with studies done in Democratic Republic of Congo 49 , Armenia 50 and Sub-Saharan Africa 25 . In fact, attending postnatal care visit is a health seeking behavior of women/caregivers.…”

“…In fact, attending postnatal care visit is a health seeking behavior of women/caregivers. So when women seek to see a health care professional, they might be more likely to seek care for their child as well, and have the opportunities to communicate with health care providers to hear about the benefit of second dose measles vaccination and the importance of completing it 50 . In addition, when mothers/caretakers visit to health facilities, they may informed about the schedule for MCV2 vaccination by health professional 25 .…”

Second dose of measles-containing vaccine coverage and associated factors among children aged 24–36 months in Gondar city, Central Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023

“…Similarly, children of mothers who had at least one PNC service utilization were more likely to vaccinate their children for MCV2 than those who did not have PNC service utilization. This finding is in agreement with the studies conducted in Indonesia, Armenia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Cameroon, sub-Saharan African countries, and elsewhere in Ethiopia (33,34,(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). This can be because mothers who have regular contact with healthcare professionals during their ANC and PNC services are more likely to be encouraged to complete their children's vaccinations.…”

Associating Measles Vaccine Uptake Classification and its Underlying Factors Using an Ensemble of Machine Learning Models

“…[1], [8], [9]. To reduce measles and increase communitylevel immunity, 95.0 % measles vaccination coverage is crucial with two doses, which will decrease related causes of mortality and lead to elimination [10]- [13].…”