Prevalence and correlates of tetanus toxoid uptake among women in sub-Saharan Africa: Multilevel analysis of demographic and health survey data

by Richard Gyan Aboagye, Hubert Amu, Robert Kokou Dowou, Promise Bansah, Ijeoma Omosede Oaikhena, Luchuo Engelbert Bain

Background

Tetanus toxoid vaccination is one of the most effective and protective measures against tetanus deaths among mothers and their newborns. We examined the prevalence and correlates of tetanus toxoid uptake among women in sub-Saharan African (SSA).

Materials and methods

We analysed pooled data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 32 countries in SSA conducted from 2010 to 2020. We included 223,594 women with a history of childbirth before the survey. Percentages were used to present the prevalence of tetanus toxoid vaccine uptake among the women. We examined the correlates of tetanus toxoid uptake using a multilevel binary logistic regression.

Results

The overall prevalence of tetanus toxoid uptake was 51.5%, which ranged from 27.5% in Zambia to 79.2% in Liberia. Women age, education level, current working status, parity, antenatal care visits, mass media exposure, wealth index, and place of residence were the factors associated with the uptake of tetanus toxoid among the women.

Conclusion

Uptake of tetanus toxoid vaccination among the women in SSA was low. Maternal age, education, current working status, parity, antenatal care visits, exposure to mass media, and wealth status influence tetanus toxoid uptake among women. Our findings suggest that health sector stakeholders in SSA must implement interventions that encourage pregnant women to have at least four antenatal care visits. Also, health policymakers in SSA could ensure that the tetanus toxoid vaccine is free or covered under national health insurance to make it easier for women from poorer households to have access to it when necessary.