FACTORS AFFECTING ACCEPTANCE OF IMMUNIZATION AMONG CHILDREN IN RURAL BANGLADESH

This paper uses the Bangladesh Fertility Survey 1989 data to identify the factors affecting acceptance of immunization among children in rur al Bangladesh. Acceptance of DPT, measles and BCG vaccinations were th e dependent variables. The independent variables included proximity to health facilities, frequency of visit by health worker, respondent's mobility, media exposure, education, age, economic status of household , region of residence, and gender of child. Logistic regression analys is was performed to assess the net effects of the variables in additio n to univariate analysis. Among the independent variables, proximity t o health facility, frequency of health worker's visit, mother's mobili ty, education, age, gender of child, ownership of radio, economic cond ition of household, and region of residence showed statistically signi ficant association with acceptance of immunization. The effect of freq uency of health worker's visit was dependent on region of residence, p ossession of radio, and mother's education. The effect of mother's abi lity to visit health centre alone was also dependent on ownership of r adio, economic condition of household, and mother's education.