Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Dr. Jeanne Connors

Abstract

Globally, vaccination is among the most successful and cost-effective public health practices in the prevention of infectious diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the child, parental, and geographical risk factors that influence childhood vaccination coverage in Afghanistan. The health belief model and socio-ecological model was used in this study as the theoretical framework to examine the effects of these risk factors on vaccination coverage among children in Afghanistan. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate tests were conducted within the secondary data analysis of the 2015 Afghanistan national Demographic and Health Survey dataset. Of the 32,420 children aged 0 to 5 years, for all vaccines (BCG, DPT, measles, and polio), only 14.2% had complete vaccination, 65% had partial, and 20.8% had no vaccination. Vaccination coverage was significantly related to the region, age of child, and wealth index of parents (p < 0.001). Similarly, birth order and ethnicity of child; and age, educational level, and occupation of parents were also significantly related to vaccination coverage (p < 0.001). The child’s gender was not significantly related to vaccination coverage (p < 0.597). Region, age of child, and wealth index of parents were significantly associated with complete vaccination coverage for all vaccines examined at 95% confidence interval in multivariate analysis. Positive social change implications of this study include the evidence found on the identification of the specific risk factors that could be barriers to complete vaccination coverage and other relevant information for stakeholders to achieve sustainable success in complete vaccination coverage in Afghanistan.

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