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Published on: August 30, 2014
[Evaluation of the National Vaccination Day in Bogota, D.C., 2001]
Franklyn E Prieto Alvarado1, Fernando P de la Hoz Restrepo
1fprieto@ins.gov.co
Insights
National Immunization Days (NID) in Colombia increased vaccination coverage by 43%, especially for infants under six months. Media campaigns effectively raised awareness, though lost opportunities for vaccination remained a concern.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Immunization Programs
Context:
- Colombia conducted a National Immunization Day (NID) in November 2001 to boost vaccination rates.
- The study focused on children under two years old in Bogotá.
Purpose:
- To assess the proportion of children completing or advancing their immunization schedules during the NID.
- To evaluate lost opportunities for vaccination and the media's role in NID promotion.
Summary:
- A cross-sectional survey of 623 children found that NID participation raised full vaccination coverage from 46% to 66%.
- The increase was most significant in infants under six months (140% increment).
- Media, particularly TV (81%) and radio (22%), were key in raising public awareness of the NID.
Impact:
- NIDs can effectively, albeit transiently, improve access to health services and vaccination coverage.
- Despite high costs, NIDs demonstrate utility in overcoming barriers to child immunization.
- A notable 24% of lost vaccination opportunities were identified, irrespective of socioeconomic status or health insurance.
Objectives:
A national immunization day-NID, aimed at improving vaccination coverage, was carried out in Colombia in November 2001. The main objective of the study was to measure the proportion of children under 2 years either completing their immunization schedule or advancing through it by receiving doses during the NID. Besides, we also evaluated the proportion of lost opportunities for vaccination during the NID and the impact of the media (TV, ratio, newspapers, etc.) in advertising the NID.
Methods:
In order to evaluate the impact of immunization a cross sectional survey was carried out in Bogotá in the waiting rows of the 30 randomly selected vaccination posts; 623 participants were systematically chosen. The outcomes were analyzed by age, socioeconomic level and type of health insurance-SSS. Only children holding a vaccination card were considered eligible for the study.
Results:
Most people become aware about NID through TV, 81%, followed by radio advertisements, 22%. After attending NID the proportion of fully vaccinated children, according to PAHO scheme, raised from 46% to 66%, a 43% increase. This increase was even higher among children aged less than 6 months (140% increment). There were no differences in the increment by social stratum or affiliation to the SSS. Among the children studied we identified a 24% of loss opportunities for vaccination that did not differ by socioeconomic level or SSS groups.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that, despite its high costs, NID might be useful to transiently overcome barriers for adequate access to health services.
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