Immunization Coverage (immunization + coverage)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Global health partnerships in practice: taking stock of the GAVI Alliance's new investment in health systems strengthening

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009
Joseph F. Naimoli
Despite a burgeoning literature on global health partnerships (GHPs), there have been few studies of how GHPs, particularly those trying to build a bridge between horizontal and vertical modes of delivering essential health services, operate at global and country levels. This paper will help address this knowledge gap by describing and analyzing the GAVI Alliance's early experience with health systems strengthening (HSS) to improve immunization coverage and other maternal-child health outcomes. To date, the strengths of HSS reside in its potential to optimize GAVI's overall investment in immunization, efforts to harmonize with other initiatives, willingness to acknowledge risk and identify mitigation strategies, engagement of diverse stakeholders, responsiveness to country needs, and effective management of an ambitious grant-making enterprise. The challenges have been forging a common vision and approach, governance, balancing pressure to move money with incremental learning, managing partner roles and relationships, managing the "value for money" risk, and capacity building. This mid-point stock-taking makes recommendations for moving GAVI forward in a thoughtful manner. The findings should be of interest to other GHPs because of their larger significance. This is a story about how a successful alliance that decided to broaden its mandate has responded to the technical, organizational, and political complexities that challenge its traditional business model. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The effect of lack of insurance, poverty and paediatrician supply on immunization rates among children 19,35 months of age in the United States

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2008
James L. Becton Jr MD
Rational, aims and objectives, Previous studies found that the increasing number of paediatricians in the United States was associated with improved childhood immunization coverage, while the increasing poverty level and the lack of health insurance reduced access to health care. We evaluated whether changes in the number of paediatricians, poverty level and health insurance affected national childhood immunization coverage in the state levels of the United States. Methods, Data were collected primarily from the US National Immunization Surveys, series 4:3:1:3:3 from years 1995 and 2003. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the relationships among variables. Results, Over 8 years studied, immunization coverage increased for children aged 19,35 months from 52.3% to 79.8% in the 50 states. The average number of paediatricians per 1000 births increased 28.7% while the percentage of children without health insurance declined 15.6%, and the percentage of children who lived in poverty level declined 17.3%. In 1995, the states with higher immunization coverage were associated with higher numbers of paediatricians [odds ratio (OR), 32.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 5.96,179.77]. In 2003, the higher numbers of paediatricians still played a role in the increased immunization coverage (OR, 4.69; 95% CI, 1.01,21.78); however, the higher rate of uninsured children in 2003 had an even greater effect upon immunization coverage. Compared with states with lower rates of uninsured children, states with intermediate and higher rates of uninsured children had sixfold (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03,0.81) and 16-fold (OR, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01,0.40) decreased childhood immunization coverage, respectively. Conclusion, Between 1995 and 2003 in the United States, the lack of health insurance became more prominent than the supply of paediatricians in affecting immunization coverage for children aged 19,35 months. Future improvements in insurance coverage for children will likely lead to greater immunization coverage. [source]


Young children non-immunized against measles: Characteristics and programmatic implications

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2006
F Chowdhury
Abstract Aim: To examine the presenting characteristics, including nutritional status, of young children without measles immunization and to suggest appropriate public health measures to improve immunization status. Methods: In this retrospective case-control analysis, we studied 4075 children aged 12,23 mo of either sex, who attended ICDDR, B's Dhaka hospital during 1994,2003. Cases included children who reported to this facility without receiving measles vaccine, and the control children were those who received the vaccine. Results: 3181 of 4075 (78%) children, including 1227 (39%) girls and 1954 (61%) boys, received measles immunization. The proportion of vaccinated children increased from 74% in 1997 to 82% in 2001. Some non-specific effects of measles immunization were observed. Fifty-one per cent of the children without measles immunization were stunted, 76% were underweight, and 48% were wasted. The non-immunized children were twice as likely to be stunted, underweight, and wasted than the immunized children; they were more often dehydrated (some or severe dehydration) (28% vs 22%, p<0.001), required longer duration (>72 h) of hospitalization (15% vs 10%, p<0.001), did not receive vitamin A capsule in the previous 6 mo (56% vs 36%, p<0.001), and had more frequent abnormal lung auscultation indicative of acute lower respiratory tract infections (8% vs 5%, p<0.001). Female children, illiterate mother, lack of vitamin A supplementation, and history of measles were significantly associated with non-immunization against measles after controlling for co-variables. Results were similar when different nutritional indicators (underweight, stunting, or wasting) were added separately to logistic regression models. Conclusion: Intervention strategies to enhance immunization coverage in infants should target illiterate mothers and their children, particularly the females and malnourished ones, provide them with measles immunization and vitamin A capsule, and encourage their periodic follow-up visits as part of a preventive nutritional programme. [source]