Vol 16, Issue 1, 2023 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 ASSESSMENT OF UTILIZATION OF ESSENTIAL IMMUNIZATION SERVICES AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 2 YEARS IN AN URBAN SLUM OF BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA AMIT KUMAR 1 , IPSA MOHAPATRA 2 , KRISHNA MISHRA 2 Received: 25 August 2022, Revised and Accepted: 30 September 2022 ABSTRACT Objectives: The study was planned with the objectives to assess the under-two immunization coverage and to identify determinants and reasons for non-utilization. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study which was undertaken in urban slums under field practice area of a medical college, over a span of 4 months among 100 mothers with children 12–23 months of age. Descriptive statistics was used and Fisher’s exact test as the test of association; taking p<0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Mean age of the children was 17.63 months±3.43.72% were fully immunized, 28% partially, and none in unimmunized category. Mother’s literacy status (p=0.03) and father’s literacy status (p=0.0001) were found to be significantly associated with the immunization status of the child. The immunization coverage based on card and history was – BCG (93%), OPV1 (88%), OPV2 (86%), OPV3 (82%), pentavalent 1 (88%), pentavalent 2 (84%), pentavalent 3 (82%), and measles (84%). Waiting time (85.71%) and lack of adequate information (67.86%) were reasons cited for partial immunization. Conclusion: The overall immunization coverage was good with none unimmunized. The literacy status of the parents played a major role in determining the immunization status of the children. Waiting time and lack of information were some of the identified barriers. Keywords: Immunization service, Immunization status, Urban slum, 12–23 months. INTRODUCTION Immunizing children against vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) can greatly reduce childhood morbidity and mortality [1]. Measurements of vaccination coverage levels and trends are used to monitor the performance of routine vaccination services, measure the effectiveness of interventions to increase coverage, and provide insights into areas of program weakness [2]. Variability in immunization coverage across the globe is attributed to a number of factors such as the demographic profile, socioeconomic characteristics, and political environment [3]. Studies have shown considerable inequities in full immunization by various individual (birth order, gender, birth weight), social (religion, caste), and societal (health care facility and cluster type) characteristics. 4-6 VPDs contribute to severe disease burden when coverage is low; although immunization coverage is better in urban areas than the rural ones, still wide disparities exist in urban areas, particularly, in slums [3-7]. Fully vaccinated (FV) children coverage in 12–23 months is considered a priority indicator for monitoring the coverage of vaccination [8]. The present study was planned in these vulnerable pockets of urban slums with the following objectives. Objectives The objectives of this study were as follows: 1. To assess the under-two immunization coverage in the urban slums 2. To identify determinants of full immunization uptake and find the reasons for non-immunization or partial immunization if any. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study design It was a community-based cross-sectional study. Study setting The study was conducted in the urban slums under field practice area of Urban Health and Training Center (UHTC), Department of Community Medicine. The total population of all the five slums under the field practice area of UHTC was nearly 12,500 with 3200 households. Study period The study was conducted over a span of 4 months, that is, from June 1, 2017, to September 30, 2017. Study population The study participants comprised mothers with children aged 12– 23 months. A household was eligible if a child was aged between 12 and 23 months and available in the house. A child aged between 12 and 23 months was identified from the household through house-to- house visits; mother of the child was asked for the child’s vaccination/ mother and child protection (MCP) card. In case where there were two or more children aged between 12 and 23 months, the youngest child was selected. For the child with immunization card, the information on the doses and types of vaccines was copied from the card. In the absence of vaccination card, mothers were asked for immunization history of the child. The number of doses the child took and its route of administration was the way of collecting immunization history of the child. Information on other variables was asked directly from the child’s mother. Inclusion criteria The following criteria were included in the study: • All the mothers with children aged 12–23 months who consented for the study. • Mothers who were residents of that area for a minimum period of 1 year. © 2023 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2023v16i1.46194. Journal homepage: https://innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ajpcr Research Article 1 Consultant, ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. 2 Department of Community Medicine, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Odisha, India. Email: dr_ipsa@yahoo.co.in