Awareness level of caregivers on measles-2 vaccination, Accra -Ghana, 2015

Introduction : the incidence of measles is still very common, assuming epidemic proportions in some parts of the world. A dose of measles vaccine at 9 months protects 85% of those vaccinated. To protect individuals and the community at large, it is important to ensure that all children at 18 months receive a second dose of measles vaccination. This is because, the older the person, the better the immunogenicity after receiving the vaccine. The national coverage for the first dose of measles is 95% but that for the second dose is 73%. This study investigated the level of awareness of measles -2 vaccination among caregivers attending child welfare clinics. Methods : a cross sectional study was conducted among caregivers with children less than 3 years at three Child Welfare Clinics in Accra as part of a one-day field work. A total of 396 caregivers were interviewed using well-structured questionnaires. We analyzed the data descriptively into frequencies and percentages as well as median and for continuous data. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Stata version14. Results : of the 396 study participants, 46.96% had good awareness level of measles 2 vaccination, while 34.34% of the participants were not aware of the existence of measles 2 vaccination. 168 (42.42%) of the care givers had children 18 months and above who had qualified for measles-2 vaccination. Majority of these caregivers, 124(73.81%) had their children vaccinated for measle-2. Marital status, educational status, parity and occupation were significantly associated with caregivers awareness level of measles- 2 vaccination (p Conclusion : our study found the awareness level of care gives for measles-2 vaccination to be insufficient. Community education on the need for a second dose of measles vaccination is highly recommended.