Bacillus calmette guerin immunization coverage and data quality in Wanging’ombe district; Njombe region, Tanzania

Abstract

Immunization coverage is a key measure for performance of immunization programmes. Coverage for pentavalent vaccine third dose is primarily used as an indicator for performance. However, it is also important to know the coverage and issues related to birth doses particularly Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) since the number of doses administered is used as a baseline for computing other immunization indicators like dropout rate. Reliability of the reported immunization coverage depends on the quality of the collected immunization data. Similarly, the accuracy of the reported data is closely linked among other things to knowledge on recording and reporting practices of staff who handle immunization data.To estimate BCG coverage and assess the quality of the reported immunization data for the calendar year 2018. Methods: A cross- sectional descriptive study was conducted in 23 selected health facilities in Wanging’ombe district. Abstraction form was used to retrieve the number of doses administered to children less than one year of age from the tally sheet and this was used as the numerator for coverage estimation. Live births were retrieved from the labour and delivery register and used as the denominator. Accuracy ratio was determined by dividing the number of recounted doses from the tally sheet by the reported doses in the health facility monthly summary form. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge of vaccinators. Timeliness of reports was ascertained by observing report submission date while completeness was determined by computing the ratio of the number of fields filled out of total. The estimated coverage was high (177%). Of the fifteen health facilities that were assessed for accuracy, 7 had accurate data, 5 over reported and 3 under reported. Majority of vaccinators 33 (71.7%) had moderate knowledge. Reporting timeliness and completeness was more than 90%. The estimated proportion of children vaccinated with BCG for the calendar year 2018 was exceptionally high; though the reported number of doses administered was accurate and can be relied for decision making. Standard Operating Procedures with clear instructions for recording and reporting should be emphasized