Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Aimee Ferraro

Abstract

Afghanistan is one of the remaining polio endemic countries in the world. Nearly one million children under 5 years of age have missed polio vaccination in Afghanistan from May 2018 until January 2021. This quantitative study used the socioecological model as the theoretical framework and secondary data analysis of the 2020 polio serosurvey (N = 1384) to investigate various risk factors such as gender, parental education, family origin (language/location), wealth, distance to nearest health facility, and number of polio vaccine doses on the level of antibodies (i.e., seroprevalence) against all three types of polioviruses in children of two age groups, 6-11 months and 36-48 months, living in polio reservoir areas of Afghanistan. Almost every child (99%) was seropositive against polio virus Type 1 (PV1), 90% were seropositive for Type 2 (PV2), and 95% were seropositive for Type 3 (PV3). Gender, region, distance to nearest health facility, and oral polio vaccine status were significantly associated with level of polio antibodies against different types of polioviruses. Binary logistic regression revealed that children living in Kandahar non-catchment and catchment areas had a 58% and 53% reduction in the odds of PV1 antibody seropositivity, respectively, as compared to those living in Jalalabad. Similarly, children living in Kandahar and Behsud had a 61% and 73% reduction in the odds of PV2 antibody seropositivity, respectively, as compared to those living in Jalalabad. Identifying risk factors associated with polio seronegativity can help to inform targeted interventions and improve the overall effectiveness of polio eradication efforts.

Download

Share

 
COinS