Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Childhood Vaccination Status in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Immunization remains one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions worldwide. Despite the critical role of vaccines in improving childhood and maternal health, Sokoto state recorded the lowest childhood vaccination completion rate among the 37 states in Nigeria with only 5% of children aged 12-23 months having had full childhood vaccination based on data from the 2018 demographic and health survey. The factors associated with the state’s low childhood vaccination status have not been explored. The study examined the relationship between the sociodemographic factors including parents’ socioeconomic and ethnoreligious factors, place of residence, and children’s biological characteristics and childhood vaccination status in Sokoto state. The social-ecological model provided the framework for the study. Data were obtained from the 2018 demographic and health survey. Descriptive analysis, Pearson chi-square, and simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were used as tools for data analysis using a sample size of 1883 to examine the association between the independent and dependent variables. The findings of the study revealed that parents’ educational level, occupation, family wealth index, ethnicity, and sex of children have significant positive effects on childhood vaccination status in Sokoto state, Nigeria, whereas religion, place of residence, and birth order do not have a significant effect. The study findings have the potential for positive social change if public health interventions could target both male and female children born to uneducated Hausa/Fulani ethnic groups in Sokoto state to enhance childhood vaccination status and reduce the incidence of child mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases