EVALUATION OF PRIMARY IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE AMONG CHILDREN AND FACTORS INFLUENCING THE IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE IN URBAN AREA OF RAICHUR

Background: Despite the concerted efforts of the government, a large proportion of vulnerable infants and children remain unimmunized. Though overall immunization coverage rates of Karnataka appear to be acceptable, some districts within the state have poor coverage rates. Districts in North Karnataka have poor immunization coverage when compared to districts in South Karnataka. Objectives: 1. To assess the primary immunization coverage in children aged between 12-23 months. 2.To study the factors influencing the immunization coverage. Material & Methods: Community based cross sectional study carried out in the urban area of Raichur town among children aged between 12-23 months by WHO-Cluster sampling method. Results: 71 % of the children were fully immunized, 28.1 % were partially immunized and 0.9 % of them were not immunized. The coverage of BCG, OPV3, DPT3, and measles was 95.7%, 79%, 79 % and 72.9 % respectively. The coverage of Hep3 was 79.5%. Factors like socio-economic status, occupation and education of parents, place of delivery, birth order of the child, presence of immunization card and number of antenatal visits were found to influence the immunization coverage.