Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe

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dc.contributor.advisorAtaguba, John
dc.contributor.authorChigwenah, Tariro
dc.date.accessioned2021-01-15T09:53:12Z
dc.date.available2021-01-15T09:53:12Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractSocioeconomic inequalities in health have received significant attention globally because of the well-known association between wealth and health. A lot of studies show that poor people are more prone to sickness than their counterparts. Immunisation has been a key antidote to avert deaths for children under the age of 5. This study represents an initial attempt to assess specific variables that contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. Data were obtained from the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, a nationally representative survey. Immunisation coverage was measured using four categories: full immunisation (a child who will have received 10 doses of vaccines), partial immunisation (a child who will have received at least one but not all vaccines), no immunisation (a child who will not have received any immunisation dose from birth) and immunisation intensity (a proportion of doses received to total doses that they should have received). Inequalities in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe were assessed using concentration curves and indices. A positive (negative) concentration index indicates immunisation coverage concentrated among the rich (poor). The concentration index was decomposed to identify how different variables contribute to the socioeconomic inequality in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. Results indicate that immunisation intensity and full immunisation concentration indices were (0.0154) and (0.0250) respectively, indicating that children from lower socio-economic status are less likely to receive all doses of vaccines. No immunisation and partial immunisation concentration indices were (-0.0778) and (-0.0878) indicating that children from higher socioeconomic status are more likely to have their children immunised opposed to their poor counterparts. The main contributors to socioeconomic inequality in immunisation coverage are the mother's education, socioeconomic status and place of residence (rural/urban and province). While immunisation services are free of charge in the public health sector in Zimbabwe, coverage rates are higher among the wealthy, which shows that there may be barriers to utilising these services that may not be the direct cost of vaccination. There have to be measures by the government to reach people in areas that are not easily accessible. Also, more needs to be done to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in Zimbabwe.
dc.identifier.apacitationChigwenah, T. (2020). <i>Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe</i>. (Master Thesis). University of Cape Town. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationChigwenah, Tariro. <i>"Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe."</i> Master Thesis., University of Cape Town, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationChigwenah, T. 2020. Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. Master Thesis. University of Cape Town. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Chigwenah, Tariro AB - Socioeconomic inequalities in health have received significant attention globally because of the well-known association between wealth and health. A lot of studies show that poor people are more prone to sickness than their counterparts. Immunisation has been a key antidote to avert deaths for children under the age of 5. This study represents an initial attempt to assess specific variables that contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. Data were obtained from the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, a nationally representative survey. Immunisation coverage was measured using four categories: full immunisation (a child who will have received 10 doses of vaccines), partial immunisation (a child who will have received at least one but not all vaccines), no immunisation (a child who will not have received any immunisation dose from birth) and immunisation intensity (a proportion of doses received to total doses that they should have received). Inequalities in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe were assessed using concentration curves and indices. A positive (negative) concentration index indicates immunisation coverage concentrated among the rich (poor). The concentration index was decomposed to identify how different variables contribute to the socioeconomic inequality in immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. Results indicate that immunisation intensity and full immunisation concentration indices were (0.0154) and (0.0250) respectively, indicating that children from lower socio-economic status are less likely to receive all doses of vaccines. No immunisation and partial immunisation concentration indices were (-0.0778) and (-0.0878) indicating that children from higher socioeconomic status are more likely to have their children immunised opposed to their poor counterparts. The main contributors to socioeconomic inequality in immunisation coverage are the mother's education, socioeconomic status and place of residence (rural/urban and province). While immunisation services are free of charge in the public health sector in Zimbabwe, coverage rates are higher among the wealthy, which shows that there may be barriers to utilising these services that may not be the direct cost of vaccination. There have to be measures by the government to reach people in areas that are not easily accessible. Also, more needs to be done to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in Zimbabwe. DA - 2020 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2020 T1 - Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe TI - Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationChigwenah T. Explaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe. [Master Thesis]. University of Cape Town, 2020 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32533en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Cape Town
dc.publisher.departmentHealth Economics Unit
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.subject.otherHealth Economics
dc.titleExplaining the socio-economic inequalities in child immunisation coverage in Zimbabwe
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPH
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceMaster Thesis
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