Chokchai Munsawaengsub, Ei Ei Hlaing, and Sutham Nanthamongkolchai
Children under five years of age constitute about 15% of population of most developing countries. An estimated 12.2 millions of deaths occur in this age group every year and most of the deaths are vaccine preventable diseases. According to Samutsakorn Provincial Health Office Data (2010), the total migrant population was approximately 250,000 and negligence of the health of the migrant children resulted in risky behaviors. The immunization coverage rate of Myanmar migrant children in Samutsakorn Province was very low compared to immunization coverage of children in Thailand. The objective of the study is to investigate the factors influencing immunization status of Myanmar migrant children among 1-5 years. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 183 Myanmar migrant mothers who had 1-5 years old children, and were interviewed by structured questionnaires. The data were collected from 28th January to 24th February, 2008, using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed by frequency distribution and Multiple logistic regression with the significant level set at p-value of <0.05. The results found that the education of mothers and perception of mothers towards Expanded Program on Immunization had significant influence on the immunization status of children (p-value <0.05). Low education of mother had 4.92 times higher chance of incomplete immunization of children. Poor perception of mother had 4.22 times higher chance of incompletely immunized children than those with good perception. For high Expanded Program on Immunization and to ensure complete immunization, the involved organizations have to emphasize health education and improve maternal and child health activities in the district, especially in migrant group. It is important to strengthen the activities of outreach mobile clinic.
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