Factors associated with incomplete vaccination schedules in children under six years of age attending a social security center in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21808713Keywords:
vaccination, immunization schedule, missed opportunities for vaccination, adverse events following immunization, parental knowledge, ParaguayAbstract
Introduction: Timely vaccination in early childhood prevents potentially fatal diseases, yet immunization coverage still falls short of recommended targets across large regions of Latin America. Objective: To describe factors related to incomplete vaccination schedules in children under six years of age attending a social security center in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, between February and June 2023. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. Eighty children under 6 years and their mothers or caregivers were included; a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and attitudes toward vaccination was administered, together with review of the child's health booklet to verify vaccination status. Analysis was exclusively descriptive. Results: Most children were aged 1–4 years (34/80; 42.5%), female (48/80; 60%) and from urban areas (78/80; 97.5%). Among mothers or caregivers, 41% (33/80) had stable employment and 34% (27/80) did not work; 37% (30/80) had reached higher education. Fifty-one percent (41/80) reported always receiving information on the importance of vaccines, mainly from nursing staff (55%; 44/80). Fifty-nine percent (47/80) of children had some post-vaccination reaction, almost always mild (fever, pain or redness in 90%; 72/80); a single case (1.25%) recorded a severe reaction, without an established link to vaccination. Most children in the sample did not have a complete vaccination schedule. Conclusions: Incomplete vaccination in this population was associated with lack of time, fear of post-vaccination reactions, partial stockouts at the health center and misinformation among some mothers or caregivers, rather than active vaccine refusal.
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