Peer-reviewed article
Immunisation Status of Under Five Children in a Tribal Colony of Northern Kerala
Arun T. Mithrason, Arya Vikas, Ann Mary Thomas, M. D. Madhusudan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined immunisation coverage among children under five in a Paniyan tribal community in Wayanad district, Kerala, India. Researchers surveyed 21 parents and found that most children had received early vaccines like BCG (100%) but coverage dropped significantly for later doses like MR2 and DPT1 (53%). Over half of the children were only partially immunised, with lack of awareness about immunisation being the main reason for incomplete coverage.
Key points
- BCG vaccination coverage was 100%, but MR2 and DPT1 coverage were only 52.94%
- 52.38% of children were partially immunised and 0% were completely unimmunised
- Lack of awareness regarding the need for immunisation was the most common reason for partial immunisation (54.54%)
- The tribal population has different healthcare needs and health-seeking behaviours compared to non-tribal populations
- The current service delivery system has largely been designed for non-tribal populations
Limitations
This is a small cross-sectional study with only 21 parents in one specific tribal colony, so findings cannot be generalised to other tribal communities or regions. The study is descriptive and cannot determine causal relationships or test interventions.
Abstract
Background: One of the most cost effective and easy methods for the healthy wellbeing of a child isimmunization. Paniyans is one of the major tribes of Wayanad and are the largest single tribal community.The sociocultural, political, and topographical uniqueness of the tribal groups in Kerala, their needs of healthcare, attitudes, and health-care-seeking behaviors differ from the nontribal population and thus, challengethe present service-delivery system that has largely been based on the needs and priorities formulated forthe nontribal population.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done between November 2018 to January 2019 at Jai Hindcolony, Wayanad district among Paniyan tribes. All the under 5 children in the colony were the study subjects.The parents were approached individually in their houses and data was collected using a predesigned andpretested investigator-administered questionnaire. Responses were obtained from a total 21 parents of thesubjects.Results: The maximum coverage was for BCG (100%), followed by OPV0 and hepatitis B 0 doses (95.23%for both) and the least was MR 2 and DPT 1 doses (52.94% for both). Majority of the children (52.38%) werepartially immunized and there were no children (0%) who were non immunized. The most common reasonfor partial immunization was unawareness regarding the need for immunization (54.54%).Conclusions: The proportion of fully immunized children was significantly lower in the study. The maximumcoverage was for BCG and the least was MR2 and DPT1 doses. The most common reasons for partial/noimmunization in the current study was lack of awareness regarding the need for immunization