Performance of hepatitis B vaccination program among children in rural China

ObjectiveTo investigate the timely vaccination rate for the first dose,coverage rate of 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine(HBV)and their influencing factors among rural children under age of 15 years in five provinces,China.MethodsThe combination of multi-stage random sampling and probability proportionate to size sampling(PPS)was adopted and 3 502 children under 15 years old were included in the study.A questionnaire-based household survey was conducted in 32 villages from 9 counties of five provinces.The survey collected information on hepatitis B vaccine among the children.Results The timely vaccination rate for the first dose of HBV was 79.51% and the coverage rate of 3 doses was 94.6%.The two rates declined with the increase of age.Univariate analysis revealed that age,birth place,whether being the only child in the family,parents'educational level,household income,and household hepatitis B vaccine knowledge were significantly correlated with both timely vaccination rate for the first dose and coverage rate of 3 doses.In logistic analysis,age had a negative impact on timely vaccination;birth place,household income,mother's educational level and whether the parents' believing the effect of hepatitis B vaccine had a positive effect on timely vaccination;age had a negative effect on coverage rate of 3 doses;birth place,household income and whether the parents having the knowlege of hepatitis B vaccine had a positive effect on coverage rate of 3 doses.ConclusionHousehold economic status and parents'knowledge of hepatitis B vaccine are important influencing factors of hepatitis B vaccination.