DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT

Users found this project useful

Effect of Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaigns on Measles Vaccination Coverage among Children in Nigeria

Abstract

Measles remains a highly contagious vaccine-preventable disease and continues to pose a public health challenge in Nigeria, particularly among children who have not received adequate vaccination. Low measles vaccination coverage may result from inadequate access to routine immunization services, vaccine hesitancy, missed opportunities for vaccination, geographical barriers, population mobility, misinformation, and weaknesses in health service delivery. Measles-rubella vaccination campaigns provide an important public health strategy for reaching children who may have been missed by routine immunization services and increasing population immunity against measles and rubella. These campaigns may involve community mobilization, mass vaccination activities, temporary vaccination posts, health education, social mobilization, identification of eligible children, and collaboration between health authorities and community stakeholders. Measles vaccination coverage refers to the proportion of eligible children who receive the recommended measles-containing vaccine within a defined population and period. In Nigeria, strengthening vaccination campaigns may help close immunity gaps and reduce the number of susceptible children at risk of measles infection. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of measles-rubella vaccination campaigns on measles vaccination coverage among children in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, the Health Systems Framework, and the Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action and provides a framework for understanding caregivers' acceptance of measles-rubella vaccination. The Health Systems Framework emphasizes service delivery, health workforce, health information, vaccine availability, financing, and accessibility as essential components of an effective immunization programme. The Social Ecological Model recognizes that vaccination behaviour is influenced by interacting individual, family, community, environmental, and health-system factors. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how measles-rubella vaccination campaigns may influence measles vaccination coverage among children in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or cross-sectional research design, depending on the availability of campaign and vaccination records. Data will be collected from caregivers of eligible children and selected communities or healthcare facilities participating in measles-rubella vaccination campaigns across selected locations in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, communities, healthcare facilities, and eligible children. Measles-rubella vaccination campaign implementation will be assessed using indicators such as campaign reach, frequency of campaigns, availability of vaccines, availability of trained vaccinators, duration of vaccination activities, number and accessibility of vaccination points, community mobilization, caregiver awareness, social mobilization activities, vaccine supply continuity, and identification of eligible children. Measles vaccination coverage will be assessed using indicators such as receipt of measles-containing vaccine, vaccination status before and after campaigns, proportion of eligible children vaccinated during campaigns, completion of recommended measles vaccination doses, and vaccination coverage within the target population. Data will be obtained from structured questionnaires, vaccination cards, campaign registers, immunization records, healthcare facility records, and programme reports where available. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, campaign implementation, and vaccination coverage patterns. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of measles-rubella vaccination campaigns on measles vaccination coverage. Where appropriate, vaccination coverage before and after campaigns will be compared to assess changes associated with campaign implementation. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that measles-rubella vaccination campaigns have a significant positive effect on measles vaccination coverage among children in Nigeria. Children living in communities reached by well-organized vaccination campaigns are expected to have higher measles vaccination coverage than children in communities with limited campaign reach. Campaigns may increase vaccination opportunities by bringing vaccines closer to underserved populations and identifying children who have missed routine immunization services. Community mobilization and caregiver education may improve awareness of measles vaccination and address misconceptions that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Campaign-based vaccination may also complement routine immunization by reducing the number of susceptible children within communities. Conversely, vaccine stock-outs, inadequate numbers of trained vaccinators, poor community mobilization, misinformation, insecurity, difficult terrain, population movement, and weak campaign monitoring may limit campaign effectiveness. However, vaccination campaigns alone may not fully determine measles vaccination coverage because routine immunization performance, caregiver knowledge, socioeconomic circumstances, access to healthcare facilities, community attitudes, and health-system capacity may also influence vaccination uptake. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on measles-rubella vaccination campaigns, measles vaccination coverage, childhood immunization, vaccine-preventable diseases, child health, epidemiology, community health, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, state ministries of health, state primary healthcare development agencies, local government health authorities, immunization programme managers, healthcare workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving childhood vaccination coverage. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening vaccination campaign planning, improving vaccine supply and distribution, expanding community mobilization, strengthening caregiver education, improving identification of missed children, increasing vaccination-point accessibility, strengthening campaign monitoring, and integrating campaign activities with routine immunization programmes to achieve sustained improvements in measles vaccination coverage across Nigeria.

Keywords: Measles-rubella vaccination campaigns, measles vaccination coverage, children, Nigeria, childhood immunization, measles prevention, vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccination uptake, child health, immunization services, epidemiology, public health.