The global effect of maternal education on complete childhood vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundThere is an established correlation between maternal education and reduction in childhood mortality. One proposed link is that an increase in maternal education will lead to an increase in health care access and vaccine uptake. Vaccinations are a central preventative child health tool, therefore demonstrating the importance of understanding factors that can improve coverage. This review aims to establish if there is a correlation between increasing maternal education and vaccine uptake and if this varies between continents, setting and time.MethodsAn electronic database search was conducted using Medline Ovid, Embase and The Cochrane Library using a combination of keywords and appropriate MeSH terms for maternal education and child vaccination. Bibliographies were also hand searched. Data was extracted and entered onto a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analysed using STATA 13.0 software. The primary outcome of effect size of maternal education on completion of childhood vaccinations was analysed at different levels. Secondary outcomes were explored using subgroup analyses of differences between continents, rural or urban settings, and dates.ResultsThe online search yielded 3430 papers, 37 were included in this study. The analysis showed increasing child vaccination uptake with increasing maternal education. Overall, analysis showed that the odds of full childhood vaccination were 2.3 times greater in children whose mother received secondary or higher education when compared to children whose mother had no education. There was large variability in the effect size between the studies included.ConclusionsImproving maternal education is important for increasing childhood vaccination uptake and coverage. Further research is needed in higher income countries.Trial registrationPROSPERO Registration No: CRD42016042409.

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Impact of mother’s education on full immunization of children aged 12–23 months in Eritrea: population and health survey 2010 data analysis

“…A study conducted in rural Nigeria found that mother's knowledge of immunization was significantly correlated with full immunization [16]. Other studies also found that maternal education was a determinant of immunization [8,11,14,15,[17][18][19][20]. However, several other studies didn't find evidence of association between maternal education and immunization [14,17,21,22].…”

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