Abstract
Baby vaccination on time is still a concern, despite the fact that timely and full immunization of children could avert 90% of child mortality attributable to infectious diseases and nutritional problems that are preventable by vaccines. Although numerous research has been conducted on vaccination coverage, only a few studies have highlighted immunization delay and its associated factors in Ethiopia. Additionally, most of them were produced using data from urban populations. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of vaccination delay and its associated factors among children aged 12-23 months in the Gomma district, which is one of the prevalently rural districts in Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at selected kebeles in the Gomma district from April 1 to 30, 2022, among 528 mother/caregiver-child pairs. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to select the study kebeles and households. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The statistical software SPSS version 26 was used for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression were fitted. Finally, an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% CI and a p value < 0.05 was used to describe an association. A total of 528 participants were included in the study. The proportion of delayed vaccination was 40.50% (95% CI 36-44%). Home delivery (AOR 4.32; 95% CI 1.30-14.70), lack of post-natal follow-up [AOR 3.13; 95% CI (1.56-6.47)], and birth order of third and above (AOR 3.20; 95% CI 1.12-9.14) were found to be risk factors for vaccination delay. While a maternal age of above 31 years (AOR 0.40; 95% CI 0.10-0.80) was found to be a protective factor against vaccination delay. The proportion of delayed vaccination was considerable. Implementation of interventions that promote institutional delivery, post-natal service utilization, and increasing knowledge of vaccination schedules are important to minimize the proposition of vaccination delay among children in the study area.