title: Factors associated with the exposure of vaccines to adverse temperature conditions: the case of North West region, Cameroon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adverse temperature recording in vaccine's cold chain is a major issue worldwide and this condition is known to compromise the quality of vaccines very rapidly. In Cameroon, with tropical climate, vaccines exposure to abnormal temperatures is very common. This study was conducted to identify factors associated to abnormal temperature recording in cold chain in the North West region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 65 vaccinating health facilities were visited for the study from eight health districts. Concerning type of health facility, 48 (73.8%) of the health facilities were governmental facilities. About 50 (76.0%) of the facilities had a functional thermometer. Among the 50 health facilities with functional thermometer, abnormal temperatures were registered in 10 (20%) health facilities during data collection and 12 (24%) in the 2 months preceding collection. Factor significantly associated with abnormal temperature recording was the absence of an alternative power source (OR = 6.5, p = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The absence of an alternative source of power was significantly associated with abnormal temperature exposure in the 2 months preceding data collection. To improve on the quality of vaccines administered in North West region, each vaccinating health facility must have at least two sources of power supply.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 067, Dschang, Cameroon. martinyakum@yahoo.com.|Meilleur accès aux soins de santé (M.A.SANTE), P.O. Box 33490, Yaoundé, Cameroon. martinyakum@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Martin Ndinakie
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Yakum
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 067, Dschang, Cameroon. jateudj@yahoo.fr.|Division of Health Operations Research, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon. jateudj@yahoo.fr.|Meilleur accès aux soins de santé (M.A.SANTE), P.O. Box 33490, Yaoundé, Cameroon. jateudj@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ateudjieu
authors.affiliation: Bamenda health district service, Bamenda, Cameroon. fidapelagie@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Fida Ramsina
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Pélagie
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 067, Dschang, Cameroon. ebileakoh@yahoo.com.|Meilleur accès aux soins de santé (M.A.SANTE), P.O. Box 33490, Yaoundé, Cameroon. ebileakoh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ebile Akoh
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 067, Dschang, Cameroon. pwatcho@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Watcho
mesh_terms: D002163:Cameroon; D004356:Drug Storage / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012034:Refrigeration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013696:Temperature; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014612:Vaccines
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines