Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for childhood immunisation in Nigeria: perspectives from caregivers, community leaders, and healthcare workers

INTRODUCTION: vaccination is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions, significantly reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. In 2019, Nigeria had almost 2.5 million unvaccinated children. This study highlights barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for childhood immunisation uptake from various stakeholder perspectives. METHODS: the study team conducted ten focus groups with mothers/caregivers and community leaders and nine semi-structured interviews with healthcare workers who provide routine immunisation services in Lagos State primary healthcare facilities. We performed a descriptive thematic analysis of the focus groups and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: study participants included 44 mothers/caregivers and 24 community leaders, and 19 primary healthcare workers in the State. Study participants reported barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for childhood immunisation uptake. Barriers include poor geographical and financial constraints to access healthcare services, inconducive health facility attributes, negative attitudes of health facility staff, vaccination misperceptions, and adverse events following immunisation. Facilitators include free immunisation service policy, optimal vaccine and device supply chain system, adequate knowledge of immunisation benefits and efficacy, vaccination outreaches, and provision of incentives to caregivers. Participants also made recommendations for implementation, including more awareness creation, use of community resources, employing more healthcare workers, frequent and optimal immunisation services and planning, and instituting a reminder system and defaulter tracking. Conclusion: our results can inform the development of interventions to improve childhood immunisation uptake. In addition, study findings can be employed to improve adult immunisation acceptance and uptake and other services provided within the primary healthcare setting.