Evaluation of Knowledge on the Extended Program Immunization (EPI) and Study of Completude of Vaccines in Health District of Guediawaye in Senegal in 2018 (Descriptive Study)

Introduction: According to WHO-UNICEF report in 2019, despite the performance of the extended immunization program, the target of 90% coverage in 2018 has not been reached for any of the antigens in Senegal. The objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge of the parents on the extended vaccination program and also the completeness of vaccinations of the children in Guediawaye health district. Method: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study that lasted 6 months in 2018 at the various health stations in the Guediawaye Health District. All children attending vaccination services at the various health stations in the Guediawaye health district were included in the study. The questionnaire used focused on the following areas: age, position in siblings, inter-reproductive space, socio-economic level, parents' knowledge and perception of the extended immunization program. The evaluation of the completeness of the vaccines was carried out using data from the vaccination records. The data analysis was done with the package survey of the software R which allows to take into account the clusters. Results: A total of 487 children were enrolled in the study. The median age was 26.6 months and just over half of the children were 24 months and older. The mother was the main respondent (n=93.2%), followed by aunts (3.1%) and grandmothers (2.1%). According to immunization diary data, 96 children (20%) had delayed immunization. These delays were mainly associated with statistically significant differences: the number of persons aged 15 to 49 in the household, the low level of education of fathers, the tenant status of parents and the lack of awareness of administrative frequencies. Conclusion: Awareness-raising campaigns, the reinforcement of women’s education, the involvement of all members of the household as well as the improvement of socio-economic status will help to combat these delays.