Nazish Siddiqi, Altaf Khan, Nighat Nisar, Azfare Alam Siddiqi.
Assessment of EPI (Expanded program of immunization) vaccine coverage in a peri-urban area.
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;57(8):391-5.

Objective: To determine the age-appropriate EPI coverage of under one year old children and Tetanus Toxoid (TT) coverage of their mothers (15-49 years) in peri-urban Karachi and to determine the factors associated with low coverage. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by utilizing WHO thirty-cluster sampling technique, seven households with infants, were randomly selected per cluster. Child`s mother was interviewed by using a structured pre-tested questionnaire, regarding the EPI coverage of her child, her own T.T. coverage and other demographic and potential risk factors for low vaccination coverage. Results: Forty five percent of the infants were age-appropriately vaccinated. The T.T coverage of mothers for the index pregnancy was 57.3% for both doses of the vaccine. In the multivariate model four factors i.e., type of house construction (proxy indicator of socio-economic status), mother`s TT vaccination status, years since marriage and parents` educational status were found to be significantly associated with children`s immunization status. Conclusions: We concluded that the EPI coverage of Gadap town, Karachi is quite low. Education of both parents plays a significant role in child`s immunization coverage. Improving the educational status of parents can potentially improve the immunization coverage (JPMA 57:391:2007).

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