Peer-reviewed article
The Role of Health Cadres in Promoting Child Vaccination in Areas with Low Education Levels
Seno Lamsir ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how community health cadres influence childhood vaccination rates in low-education communities. Using data from 210 mothers with children aged 12–24 months, researchers found that health cadres significantly improved complete basic vaccination through reminders and communication. The effect remained strong even after accounting for maternal education and socioeconomic status. The study suggests that community health workers are important for improving vaccination coverage beyond formal health systems.
Key points
- Health cadres' roles significantly increased odds of complete basic vaccination (OR = 3.08; p = 0.001)
- Schedule reminders and interpersonal communication were the strongest dimensions of cadres' effectiveness
- Assistance during vaccination visits showed weaker contribution due to logistical constraints
- Effect persisted after controlling for maternal education and socioeconomic status
- Study recommends enhancing communication skills, improving logistics, and integrating cadres into community-based follow-up systems
Limitations
The cross-sectional design cannot establish causal relationships or rule out reverse causation. The study does not specify which country or region was examined, limiting generalizability of findings.
Abstract
Background: Disparities in basic childhood immunization coverage remain evident in communities with low education levels, often associated with limited health literacy, vaccine hesitancy, and barriers to accessing health services. In this context, the role of health cadres is considered crucial in supporting childhood vaccination uptake at the community level. Method: This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design involving 210 mothers with children aged 12–24 months. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed through binary logistic regression to examine the influence of health cadres’ roles on the completeness of basic childhood vaccination. Results: The findings indicate that health cadres’ roles significantly influenced complete basic vaccination (OR = 3.08; p = 0.001) after controlling for maternal education and socioeconomic status. Schedule reminders and interpersonal communication emerged as the strongest dimensions of the cadres’ role, while assistance during vaccination visits showed the weakest contribution due to logistical constraints. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that achieving complete childhood vaccination depends not only on formal health system mechanisms but also on strengthening the role of health cadres as social and educational agents within the community. Enhancing persuasive communication skills, improving logistical support, and integrating cadres into community-based follow-up systems are essential to ensure sustainable improvements in basic childhood vaccination coverage.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Health cadres providing schedule reminders, interpersonal communication, and assistance during vaccination visits
- Population
- 210 mothers with children aged 12–24 months in low-education communities
Key finding
Health cadres' roles significantly influenced complete basic vaccination (OR = 3.08; p = 0.001)