Abstract

Prevention through vaccination is a strong means to fight pediatric lethal diseases. In Burkina Faso, one of the main problems for vaccination is the non-respect of the vaccination timetable bringing about a significant reduction of validity of administered doses.

OBJECTIVES:

The authors had for aim to assess reasons for the non-compliance to the timetable. A transversal study was carried out in the Boussé health district to: 1) analyze the qualitative and organizational factors of the vaccination services linked to this non compliance; 2) analyze community factors accounting for this situation.

POPULATION AND METHOD:

The study target group included mothers of children aged 0 to 11 months vaccinated by the vaccination team of the Boussé health district from August 1st, 2003 to June 30th, 2004, and the vaccination team. Variables covered in this study included sociodemographic factors, the organization of vaccination campaigns, the mothers' perception of health service organization, the vaccination team's experience, vaccinal safety, knowledge of vaccination timetable.

RESULTS:

The following were identified as key factors for the non-observance of the vaccination timetable: poor organization of the vaccination services, inadequate competence of the vaccination team, poor educational level of mothers, poor communication level with mothers, postvaccination side effects.

CONCLUSION:

The study recommends the following: training of vaccination providers, a better organization of vaccination services, and the implementation of a communication plan.