Assessment of Missed Opportunities of Immunization among Children Below Five Years Attending Primary Healthcare Centers in Al-Karkh District, Baghdad

Background: A missed opportunity of immunization (MOI) is one of the important contributing factors for the poor immunization status of the Al-Karkh district in Baghdad city. Objective: The present study is aimed at knowing the prevalence of MOI in children attending primary health care centers. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional interview and has been conducted in primary health care centers in Baghdad/Al-Karkh, including 400 children aged under five years enrolled randomly collected during the period from the 1st of October 2022 to the 5th of January 2023. The present study used the standard protocols recommended by the WHO to assess missed opportunities of immunization. Results: The mean age of children was 17.24 months with a standard deviation of 15.13 months. 57.3% of the children were male and 42.8% were female. The prevalence of missed opportunities for immunization among children aged 1–59 months in Al-Karkh district was 224.5%. Conclusions: There is a highly significant relationship between the missed opportunities of immunization and child age, as well as strong relationships between the missed opportunities of immunization and the educational level of the mother and socioeconomic status. Raise vaccination awareness among those who look after children and deepen their understanding of the advantages of immunization.