The role of the media in the coverage of childhood vaccination in children under two years of age in Peru, ENDES 2021–2024

In Peru, the national immunization schedule includes Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), Diphtheria–Tetanus–Pertussis (DTaP), Measles–Mumps–Rubella (MMR), and Poliomyelitis (Pol) vaccines. Despite their proven role in reducing infant morbidity and mortality, coverage remains uneven and is potentially influenced by access to communication media. We analyzed data from 37,791 mother–child pairs with children aged 18–24 months from the nationally representative Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES) 2021–2024. Using generalized linear models with a Poisson family and log link, we estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (PRa) for associations between complete vaccination and access to various media types (newspaper, radio, television, internet, computer, landline, mobile phone), accounting for the complex survey design through sampling weights, stratification, and clustering. Complete vaccination was reported for 94.1% of children for BCG, 85.5% for DTaP, 86.3% for Pol, and 52.9% for MMR. Mobile phone or smartphone ownership was consistently associated with higher completion across all vaccines, ranging from a 12% increase for BCG (PRa 1.12; 95% CI 1.03–1.21) to a 43% increase for MMR (PRa 1.43; 95% CI 1.15–1.77). Radio access was positively associated with DTaP (PRa 1.03; 95% CI 1.00–1.05) and Pol (PRa 1.04; 95% CI 1.01–1.06). Speaking a language other than Spanish or Quechua was linked to lower coverage, particularly for MMR (PRa 0.67; 95% CI 0.56–0.82) and DTaP (PRa 0.76; 95% CI 0.68–0.86). These findings suggest that expanding culturally and linguistically tailored communication strategies through both traditional and digital media, especially mobile phones and radio, could improve vaccination uptake, particularly for MMR, DTaP, and Pol.