Peer-reviewed article
Correlates of Full, Partial, and Non‑Immunisation among Children Aged 12–23 Months in Gokwe South District, Rural Zimbabwe
Laston Gonah, Norest Hama, Olanrewaju Oladimeji ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined why some children in rural Zimbabwe are not fully immunised. Among 573 children aged 12-23 months, 62% were fully immunised, 25% partially immunised, and 13% not immunised at all. Key barriers to immunisation included caregivers being dissatisfied with healthcare, not having a child health card, limited knowledge about vaccines, and belonging to apostolic religious communities. The researchers recommend improving caregiver education, strengthening health services, maintaining child health records, and engaging with religious communities.
Key points
- 62.1% of children were fully immunised, 24.6% partially immunised, and 13.3% not immunised
- Caregiver dissatisfaction with healthcare increased the odds of non-immunisation by 2.6 times
- Absence of a child health card increased the odds of non-immunisation by 3.5 times
- Limited knowledge of new vaccines increased odds of non-immunisation by 1.9 times
- Children from apostolic religious communities had lower odds of non-immunisation (protective factor)
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study that identifies associations but cannot establish causation. The findings are specific to rural Zimbabwe and may not generalise to urban areas or other countries with different health systems and religious contexts.
Abstract
Childhood immunisation coverage is often lower in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Zimbabwe than national targets, potentially leaving children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. We examined factors associated with immunisation status among 12–23-month-old children in rural Zimbabwe, using a cross-sectional study among caregivers of 12–23-month-old children. These were selected using a multistage sampling strategy, with households randomly selected within health facility catchment areas. Logistic regression models identified correlates of incomplete immunisation. Among 573 caregiver–child pairs (54.8% male), 62.1% of children were fully immunised, 24.6% partially immunised, and 13.3% not immunised; coverage did not differ by sex (p = 0.12). Bivariate analyses showed significant associations with possession of a child health card, maternal education, place of birth, religious affiliation, knowledge of immunisation schedules, and caregiver satisfaction with healthcare (p < 0.05). In the adjusted binary logistic regression model, caregiver dissatisfaction (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.7–4.0), absence of a child health card (AOR = 3.5; 95% CI: 2.2–5.5), limited knowledge of new vaccines (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2–3.1), and apostolic affiliation (AOR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26–0.73) independently predicted non-immunisation. Multinomial regression showed that home birth, low maternal knowledge, and lack of health cards differentiated partial from complete non-immunisation. Improving caregiver health literacy, strengthening health-system responsiveness, ensuring continuity of child health records, and engaging apostolic religious communities may substantially improve childhood immunisation coverage in rural Zimbabwe.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Identification of correlates of non-immunisation to inform targeted interventions including improved caregiver health literacy, strengthened health-system responsiveness, continuity of child health records, and engagement with apostolic religious communities
- Population
- Caregivers of 12-23 month-old children in Gokwe South District, rural Zimbabwe (n=573)
Key finding
62.1% of children fully immunised, 24.6% partially immunised, 13.3% not immunised
Gonah et al. · OpenAlex · 1 Jan 2026