Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
This study measured immunisation coverage among Afghan refugee children under 2 years old living in suburban Mashhad, Iran. Researchers collected vaccination data from 313 children using WHO standard questionnaires and immunisation cards or maternal recall. About 80% of children were fully vaccinated, but factors like maternal age, family size, and length of residence affected coverage. The main reasons families did not vaccinate included fear of side effects, low vaccine confidence, child illness, and difficulty scheduling appointments.
Key points
79.9% of refugee Afghan children aged under 2 years were fully vaccinated
Approximately 20% immunisation gap exists among this population despite free services
Immunisation status was associated with maternal age, number of children, child's sex, religion, and duration of residence
Main barriers were fear of side effects, low vaccine confidence, child illness, and scheduling challenges
Education campaigns to counter vaccine misconceptions are needed alongside structural interventions
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causation or show how barriers change over time. Reliance on maternal recall for some vaccination records may introduce inaccuracy in the data.
Abstract
Background: Although immunisation services are free in Islamic Republic of Iran, coverage among refugee Afghan children remains suboptimal. Aim: To assess immunisation coverage among refugee Afghan children aged ˂2 years in suburban Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods: Using a locally adapted version of the WHO standard immunisation coverage questionnaire, we collected immunisation data from 313 refugee Afghan children aged ˂2 years in suburban Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. Immunisation status was confirmed using immunisation cards or maternal recall if cards were unavailable. We analysed the data using SPSS version 21 and conducted chi-square tests to examine associations between categorical variables, analysis of variance for continuous variables, and unadjusted linear regression to identify predictors of immunisation status. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the children, 79.9% were fully vaccinated. Immunisation status was associated with maternal age, number of children, child's sex, religion, and duration of residence in the country. Main barriers to immunisation were fear of sideeffects, low confidence in vaccines, illness, and scheduling challenges. Conclusion: The approximately 20% immunisation gap found in this study highlights the need for tailored interventions to address the structural and behavioural barriers to immunisation among this population group, including education campaigns to counter common misconceptions about vaccines.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
