title: Inequity in childhood immunization between urban and rural areas of Peshawar.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Purpose of this study was to find coverage of vaccines in EPI and compare the factors related to vaccine failure or missed vaccination in urban and rural areas of Peshawar.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Urban and rural of Peshawar from 20th to 31st of June 2010. A questionnaire was used to interview parents of 548 children, aged 1 year and below, about demographics, vaccination status, reasons for missed vaccination and views on immunization. Results from both urban and rural areas were compared to find the impact of different factors on immunization failure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The immunization coverage in urban areas was 76.5% while in rural areas it was 48.8%. Causes for non immunization were different in urban and rural areas. In urban areas, lack of awareness and care takers/parents being busy were the main reason for non immunization. In rural areas, in addition to formers, lack of accessibility to health centres and misconceptions about vaccination were major reasons for non-immunization. Parents were more educated in urban areas than rural areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rural areas had a lower immunization rates due to lack of awareness, low accessibility and much lower education of parents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan. eaglebook86@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naeem
authors.forename: Muhammad Zia Ul Islam
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adil
authors.forename: Syed Hussain
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: Muhammad Usman
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Ayasha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Syeda Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Naz
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*