Coverage and Causes of Missed Bcg Vaccination: a User Perspective Study

Objectives: To find the coverage rate and factors associated with the failure of BCG vaccination in urban and rural areas of Peshawar. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in areas near Peshawar University Campus Hashtnagari, Naway Kalay and Pawaka Village in June 2010. A questionnaire was used to interview parents of 548 children, aged four years and below, about demographics, BCG vaccination status, reasons for missed vaccination and views on immunization. Data analysis was done by SPSS 16.0. Results: Out of the 548 children, 291 (53.1%) were female and 257 (46.9%) were male. 432 (78.8%) children were vaccinated while 116 (21.2%) were not vaccinated. Urban population was 55.8% while rural population was 44.2%. The reasons for missed vaccination were lack of awareness (24.14%), family problems (20.69%), centre too far (19.83%), wrong ideas (10.34%), fear of reactions (3.44%) and child illness (6.04%). Conclusion: Our study revealed that low vaccination coverage was mainly due to low awareness among people and poor socioeconomic conditions.