Quality of Counselling, Exposure to Vaccination Messages and Caregivers Knowledge on the Uptake of Penta Vaccine in Six Northern Nigerian States

BackgroundPentavalent 3 (Penta-3) coverage for children aged 12-23 months is used as the prime substitute for determining vaccination coverage and monitoring the performance of the national immunization programme. However, the coverage for Penta 3 in Nigeria remains low. Quality interaction between caregivers and providers and access to appropriate information are associated with healthcare utilization and acceptance of recommended health behaviours. This study examines the quality of counselling (QOC), caregivers exposure to vaccination messages and childs uptake of the Penta vaccine. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study that utilized quantitative data obtained through a survey. Caregivers (n=561) of children aged 2-24 months accessing child vaccination services who received Penta vaccines at randomly selected health facilities (n=163) offering routine immunization (RI) services were surveyed. Penta uptake was coded as binary; hence, binary logistic regression was performed using Stata 14. ResultWe found that 56% of the caregivers received quality counselling. Although awareness of child vaccination was high (70%), two-thirds had poor exposure. The uptake of all three doses of Penta vaccine was 43%. Contextual factors associated with Penta uptake include caregivers knowledge of when a child should receive their first vaccination (aOR=2.08; 95% CI=1.01-4.29), sources of child vaccination messages, namely, place of worship (aOR=2.78; 95% CI=1.15-6.67), Community Health Workers CHW (aOR=1.95; 95% CI=1.14-3.34), community leader (aOR=2.21; 95% CI=1.11-4.41) and residence in the northwest region (aOR=2.60; 95% CI=1.51-4.48). ConclusionGiven the low quality of counselling and the positive influence of religious and traditional leaders, interventions that prioritize strengthening patient-provider interaction and community structure are crucial for increasing child vaccination coverage in Nigeria.