A Survey of Vaccination Coverage of Mothers and the Causes of its Cessation or Delay in Zabol University of Medical Sciences in 2009

Immunization is one of the most important and cost-effective measures for the prevention of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study was designed and implemented to determine vaccination coverage of mothers and the causes of its cessation or delay in Zabol University of Medical Sciences in 2009. In this analytical cross-sectional study, the study population consisted of all mothers of 15- to 26-month-old children in urban and rural areas, under the coverage of Zabol University of Medical Sciences during the study period. Finally, 630 mothers in 90 clusters of 7 participants were selected, using systematic cluster sampling method. Then, mothers were evaluated through interviews and review of mothers’ vaccination cards. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analytical statistics, and Chi-square test. According to the results of this study, in a total number of 630 mothers under evaluation, 494 (78.4%) and 128 (21.6%) individuals had complete and defective/unsafe vaccination, respectively. The major causes of cessation or delay in immunization among mothers were related to lack of knowledge about the necessity of subsequent vaccination (66.4%) and unawareness about the need for vaccination (21.5 %); also, delayed vaccination was associated with lack of motivation (4.7 %). Considering the causes of vaccination delay or cessation, the need for immunization training and providing facilities for mothers is strongly felt.