Determinants of Missed Opportunities for Immunization Among Under-Five Children attending Nakuru Level-5 Hospital, Kenya

Abstract The aim of this study was to find out determinants of missed opportunity for immunization for children aged between ages 6 weeks to 59 months in Nakuru Level five hospital. The specific objectives included: to determine the socio-demographic factors affecting immunization services, to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of parents towards immunization and to determine health facility factors contributing to missed opportunities for immunization. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional study design to collect data .The study area was Nakuru Level five hospital. Purposive sampling was used, whereby the researcher used elements that best represent the objectives of the phenomenon being studied. This study used researcher administered open and closed-ended questionnaire because it ensures higher return rate. The data was validated by technical persons and experts who reviewed the questionnaire to ensure its accuracy so that it elicit the genuine results within the stipulated time frame. A pre-test was done on a population with similar characteristic using 10% of desired sample size to ascertain reliability. Data collected was cleaned, arranged, coded and checked for completeness and then entered into Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 22 for windows). The researchers checked the data for accuracy and consistency, then it was analysed using descriptive statistics and was presented in the forms of tables, graphs and charts.