Determinants of Incomplete Vaccination Among Children Aged 12 to 23 Months in Gindhir District, Southeastern Ethiopia: Unmatched Case–Control Study

BACKGROUND: Incomplete vaccination can put children at greater risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases. In Ethiopia, vaccination coverage against vaccine-preventable diseases is still a significant and persistent public health challenge. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the determinants of incomplete childhood vaccination among children aged 12–23 months in Gindhir District, Southeast Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based unmatched case–control design was employed among children aged 12–23 months from 1 to 28 February 2020. A total of 254 cases and 508 controls were included using the stratified random sampling technique. Cases included children aged 12–23 months who missed at least one dose of the routine vaccination, and controls were the children with complete vaccination with all required doses. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the independent factors for children’s incomplete vaccination status. RESULTS: Of all assessed determinants, maternal knowledge about vaccination (AOR=0.50, 95% CI: 0.31, 0.80), educational status (AOR=2.61, 95% CI: 1.19, 5.67), average monthly income (AOR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.77), model family (AOR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.51, 4.14), taking TT vaccine (AOR= 0.45 95% CI: 0.29, 0.78), number of under five children (AOR= 4.90 95% CI: 1.72, 13.93) and birth order (AOR= 6.33, 95% CI: 1.89, 14.87) were found to have statistically significant association with childhood incomplete vaccination. CONCLUSION: In this study, the mother’s education, model family, birth order, average monthly income, and knowledge were some of the independent determinants of incomplete childhood vaccination. Improving maternal knowledge, income, and educational status should be the expectable measure to reduce incomplete vaccination.