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[Is there a relationship between vaccination coverage and pediatric health care?]
J R Castro Conde1, M Méndez Abad, M J Rodríguez Brito
1Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Laguna.
Insights
Missed pediatric health care visits and poor quality visits are linked to delayed childhood immunizations. Ensuring timely and quality care is crucial for maintaining high vaccination coverage rates.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Immunology
Context:
- Childhood immunization is a cornerstone of preventive pediatric care.
- Assessing the quality of healthcare visits is essential for evaluating service delivery.
- Rural healthcare settings present unique challenges in achieving optimal health outcomes.
Purpose:
- To investigate the association between the frequency and quality of pediatric healthcare visits and immunization coverage.
- To identify factors contributing to suboptimal vaccination rates in children.
- To evaluate adherence to recommended healthcare visit schedules and vaccination protocols.
Summary:
- The study analyzed data from children aged 3 months to 14 years in a rural health center.
- Vaccination coverage varied by age group, with lower rates for MMR, OPV, and DT vaccines.
- A significant correlation was found between missed/low-quality healthcare visits and incomplete immunization status.
Impact:
- Findings highlight the critical role of regular, high-quality healthcare interactions in achieving successful childhood immunization.
- Interventions aimed at improving healthcare visit adherence and quality may enhance vaccination rates.
- This research provides evidence for targeted public health strategies to improve pediatric preventive care in underserved areas.
Objective:
The aims of this study were to evaluate the relationship between pediatric health care visits and immunization coverage.
Patients And Methods:
The study was made in a rural health care center. All of the children between 3 months and 14 years old were included. The data were obtained directly from their clinical histories. The quality of the health care visits was evaluated according to the fulfillment of A.E.P. patterns of health care.
Results:
We observed that 87% of infants, 74% of preschool children and 74% of school children were correctly vaccinated. We observed a significantly lower (p < 0.05) coverage of the MMR vaccine in respect to the first three doses of DPT and OPV vaccines; and the coverage of OPV and DT at 6 years old was even lower. The quality of health care visits was good in 67% of infants, 10% of preschool children and 12% of school children. There was a relationship between incomplete vaccinations and missed visits (p < 0.001) and also with low quality health care visits (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
We conclude that there is a significant relationship between missed visits and low quality health care visits with delayed immunization.