Factors associated with missed opportunities for vaccination in children aged <5 years in Oaxaca, Mexico, 2018

Introduction. We estimated the frequency of missed opportunities for vaccination and the factors associated with them in children under five as they exited the health facilities in two health districts of Oaxaca, Mexico in 2018. Population and Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study out of an exit survey of public health facilities with low immunization coverage. The study population was comprised of 837 children and their caregivers who had visited those health facilities. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to analyze factors associated with missed opportunities for vaccination. Results. A total of 502 children were eligible to receive 1338 doses of missing vaccines; 986 missed opportunities for vaccination were observed. The factors related to missing opportunities were related to health facilities (810, 82.2%); mainly due to total or partial vaccine shortages (789, 97.4%), followed by health personnel (108, 10.9%) and child caregivers (68, 6.9%). Discussion. The main variable associated with missed vaccination opportunities was partial or complete vaccine shortages.