MATERNAL EDUCATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CHILDHOOD VACCINATION TIMELINESS AND COMPLETENESS

Abstract

Background: There is a well-established link between lower childhood mortality and maternal education. Maternal education levels have been linked to improved access to healthcare facilities and increased rates of vaccine acceptance, according to one theory. Immunizations are essential for protecting children's health, which emphasizes the need to understand the variables that can increase coverage. This review aims to determine whether there is a relationship between rising maternal education levels and rising vaccination rates, while also investigating any differences between countries, environments, and time periods.
Methods: Using databases such Medline Ovid, Embase, and The Cochrane Library, a thorough electronic search was carried out using relevant MeSH terms and keywords related to child immunization and maternal education. Furthermore, bibliographies were manually searched. After carefully extracting and entering the data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, STATA 13.0 software was used for analysis. Examined across different strata was the primary result, which was the effect size of mother education on kid vaccination completion. Subgroup analyses concentrating on differences between countries, rural versus urban environments, and temporal fluctuations were used to investigate secondary outcomes.
Result: A total of 3430 papers were found through the online search; 37 of them were judged suitable for inclusion in this investigation. The results of the analysis showed a link between improved child vaccine uptake and maternal education levels. Overall, the results showed that children with mothers who completed secondary or higher education had 2.3 times higher likelihood of receiving all recommended childhood immunizations than children with moms who did not complete education. Nonetheless, there was a significant amount of variation in effect sizes across the included trials.
Conclusions: Increasing mother education appears to be a critical approach to increasing childhood immunization coverage and uptake. However, further investigation is necessary to fully comprehend the processes at work, especially in higher-income nations.