Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Childhood Immunization among Teenage Mothers in Nairobi Slums

Abstract

Background Vaccine-preventable diseases are a significant burden in public health and the economy, especially in developing countries. Teenage pregnancy is on the rise especially among teenagers in the urban slums and rural settings, posing a threat to childhood immunization coverage and increases the risk of acquiring infectious diseases. This study aimed at determining the level of knowledge, attitude, practice, barriers, and facilitators among teenage mothers towards childhood immunization compared to adult mothers in selected Nairobi slums. Objective To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of teenage mothers in Kibera and Mukuru slums on KEPI vaccines and find out barriers and facilitators to following the vaccination schedule; compared to adult mothers, between October and November 2019. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study carried out at Kibera and Mukuru health centre among teenage mothers and adult mothers. A total of 262 participants were consecutively recruited over a two-month period. A standard questionnaire was used to collect participants’ information on the level of knowledge, attitude, practice, barriers, and facilitators to childhood immunization. Data collected was keyed in Microsoft Excel and imported to IBM SPSS version 21 for analysis. Results Out of 262 participants recruited, 119 (46%) and 79 (30%) were from Kibera health centre and Mukuru Kwa Njenga health centre respectively. One hundred and seventy five (68%) were teenage mothers. Among these, 102 (58%) were single. The mean age of the study participants and teenage mothers was 19.9 (SD 3.4) and 18.2 (SD 0.9) respectively. Most of the teenage mothers were Protestants (81%), had one child (78%), were unemployed (64%) and had at least secondary education (55%). The level of knowledge about childhood immunization among teenage mothers was moderate, 43%. There was no significant association between age, child’s gender, educational level and marital status to the knowledge among teenage mothers. However, teenage mothers who had more than one child had more knowledge on childhood immunization than those who had one child (p=<0.05). Majority of the teenage mothers had positive attitude and good practice (96%) on childhood immunization. Nearly all the teenage mothers (99%) felt the vaccine are safe for their children. The main barriers reported by the teenage mothers were poor accessibility of the health facility and shortage of health care workers. Conclusion and Recommendation Despite moderate level of knowledge on childhood immunization among teenage mothers, attitude and practices were satisfactory. There is need to introduce or strengthen community health workers programme, increase the number of health staff and outreach child immunization clinics. We also recommend educational programmes and awareness session with teenage mothers.