Statistical Analysis of Childhood Immunization and Health Indicators: a Study of Vaccination Coverage and Associated

This study highlights the factors influencing childhood vaccination uptake. While religion,
ethnicity, and education appear to play roles, their effects are not statistically significant,
indicating that other variables may contribute to immunization behaviors. The findings
emphasize the importance of continued efforts to enhance vaccine accessibility and acceptance,
ultimately improving public health outcomes.
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the findings, the following recommendations are proposed:
1. Public health campaigns should target communities with low vaccination uptake,
particularly focusing on addressing misconceptions and barriers related to religious and
cultural beliefs.
2. Further research should explore other potential influences on vaccination decisions, such
as access to healthcare, income levels, and parental attitudes towards immunization.
3. Policymakers should strengthen immunization programs by improving outreach efforts in
rural areas and ensuring vaccine availability.
4. Educational initiatives should emphasize the importance of vaccination, particularly
among populations with lower educational attainment.
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5. Health authorities should collaborate with religious and community leaders to foster
positive attitudes toward childhood immunization.
Descriptive Analysis on Administered Vaccination The data collected reveal variations in
childhood immunization rates. For Polio 0 vaccination, 61.07% of respondents reported not
receiving it, while 38.26% confirmed they had. A small fraction (0.67%) was unsure. Polio 2 had
a lower reported uptake, with only 1.34% receiving it, while 44.30% did not, and 54.36% were
uncertain. Similarly, for Polio 3, 70.47% did not receive it, and 29.13% were unsure.
Regarding the measles vaccine, 37.58% of respondents had received it, while 61.07% had not,
and 1.34% were uncertain. For the DPT vaccine, a significant majority (77.85%) had not
received it, while 22.15% either had or were unsure. When asked about overall vaccination
history, 82.55% reported having received at least one vaccination, while 17.45% had not.
Health-related responses indicate that 8.72% of individuals had experienced diarrhea recently,
while 91.27% had not. Regarding treatment, 96.64% had not received an antibiotic injection,
with only 3.36% having done so. Additionally, 14.77% had been given home remedies or herbs,
while 85.23% had not.
Christianity is the predominant religion among respondents, with 40.94% identifying as
Christians and 33.55% as Catholics. Traditionalists make up 21.48%, while Muslims represent
only 4.03% of the sample. Given this distribution, the influence of religion on vaccination
behavior is likely shaped by Christian and traditionalist beliefs, while the effect of Islam is
difficult to determine due to the small number of respondents in that category.
Ethnic representation is similarly uneven, with the Agatu group forming the largest share at
62.42%. The Idoma ethnicity accounts for 23.49%, while Igede represents 14.09%. This
imbalance may explain why ethnicity did not show strong statistical significance in the logistic
regression. The relatively higher odds of vaccination among Igede individuals could be due to
sample size variations rather than a true underlying trend.
Education levels among respondents vary, with 45.64% having a primary education, 27.52%
completing secondary education, and 22.82% having no formal education. Only 4.03% have
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attained higher education. While the logistic regression suggested that lower education levels
might be associated with lower odds of vaccination, these effects were not statistically
significant. Since the majority of respondents fall within the primary and secondary education
levels, other socio-economic or cultural factors may play a more decisive role in vaccination
decisions than formal education alone.
A chi-square test was performed to assess the relationship between recent diarrhea and receiving
antibiotic injections. The results indicate no significant relationship between these variables (pvalue = 0.653), meaning that experiencing diarrhea does not predict whether an individual
receives an antibiotic injection. Similarly, another chi-square test examined the relationship
between having received a vaccination and the use of herbal medicine. The p-value (0.8366)
suggests no significant association between these variables, indicating that those who have taken
herbal remedies do not significantly differ in their vaccination status from those who have not.
The logistic regression analysis explores how religion, ethnicity, and educational level influence
the likelihood of having a vaccination. The intercept suggests that, when all other factors are at
their baseline levels, individuals have more than twice the odds of being vaccinated compared to
not being vaccinated. This result is highly significant, indicating a strong underlying tendency
towards vaccination even without considering the predictors.
When considering religion, being Muslim is associated with slightly lower odds of vaccination
compared to the reference group, with about a 19% decrease. However, this effect is not
statistically significant, meaning that religious affiliation alone may not strongly determine
vaccination status. On the other hand, Christians show a mild increase in odds, suggesting they
are about 16% more likely to be vaccinated than the reference group, though this result is also
borderline significant. Traditionalists exhibit a slightly higher likelihood of vaccination, but their
result is similarly inconclusive given the statistical uncertainty.
Regarding ethnicity, individuals from the Idoma ethnic group do not show any meaningful
difference in vaccination likelihood, as their odds are nearly identical to the reference group.
Those identifying as Igede appear to have about 23% higher odds of vaccination, though this
effect is not strong enough to draw firm conclusions.
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Education level also plays a role, but none of the effects are statistically significant. Individuals
with no formal education have lower odds of vaccination compared to the reference group, with
a reduction of around 17%. Similarly, those with primary and secondary education also show
lower odds, though the differences are relatively small and do not provide strong evidence of an
educational effect on vaccination decisions.
While some patterns suggest potential influences of religion, ethnicity, and education on
vaccination, most effects do not reach statistical significance, meaning that additional factors
might be at play in determining vaccination behavior. This highlights the need for further
investigation into the social, economic, and cultural determinants of immunization uptake