Factors Affecting Uptake of Optimal Doses of Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine in Six States of Nigeria

M. Hamaza; A. S. Rukayya; S. Bukar

M. Hamaza Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria
A. S. Rukayya Department of Statistics, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil
S. Bukar Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Tetanus toxoid (TT) immunization for pregnant women has remained the most effective strategy in eliminating neonatal and maternal tetanus. The vaccine for the pregnant women is supposed to be given five times. Despite the availability of vaccines for almost 50years, tetanus in pregnant women still remained a public health problem and contributor to morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Many qualitative and quantitative factors contribute to the continued existence of tetanus in pregnant women. The objective of this analysis is to identify individual characteristics that could be associated with maternal immunization against tetanus.

Methods: The data comes from the study conducted by the Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank in 2013. A total of 1504 pregnant women responded for tetanus related questions in the interview at ANC units in six states of Nigeria. The analysis involved the use of Kruskal Wallis analysis of variance to test the statistical significance difference between each pair of variables for the quantitative data, Chi – square to test the significant relationship between each pair of variables for the qualitative data, and Multinomial logistic regression for multivariate analysis.

Results: A total of 1504 pregnant women responded for tetanus related questions in the interview at ANC units in six states of Nigeria. Among the respondents, 42.1% of the women were from Adamawa state, 1.8% from Benue, 12.2% from Nassarawa, 6.8% from Ogun state, 25.9% from 0ndo and 11.2% from Taraba state. Almost 95.9% of the women were married with median age of 25years, ranging from 13 - 50years. About 39.3% of the women had secondary and higher education, 21.4% did not receive tetanus toxoid vaccine while only 21.4% received more than 2 times. Several factors such as use of tetanus toxoid injection, use of traditional birth attendant services, spouse education, primigravidae, and age, were found to be significant predictors of maternal immunization against tetanus.

Conclusion: The results shows the urgent need for the government to strengthen the immunization coverage in Nigeria, through enlightenment, providing more easily accessible centers, and providing more well trained personnel to carry out the exercise.