Impact of Community Health Workers (CHWs) on Childhood Immunization Coverage in Rural Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The research paper is based on Community Health Workers (CHWs) role on coverage of immunization among children in rural districts of Punjab, Pakistan. CHWs are quite significant in linking the communities to the formal healthcare sector because they facilitate outreachs to vaccination, health and follow-up services. The level of childhood immunization regardless of the national immunization programs in Pakistan is not desired particularly in the rural areas (UNICEF, 2021). The research design applied in this study is quantitative research design, which involved the use of structured questionnaires and health records on 150 households spread across the chosen rural districts. The correlation and regression analyses were completed to evaluate the relationship between CHW engagement and immunization outcomes using descriptive statistics. The results show that when CHWs are actively involved, the immunization rates have been significantly higher and the greater the coverage in the household is the higher the home visits, counseling, and reminders by CHWs. The paper highlights the importance of CHWs in addressing the barriers, particularly lack of awareness, distance to health facilities and vaccine hesitancy. Strategies to be recommended to achieve equity in access to childhood immunization in rural Punjab are; strengthening CHW programs, continuous training and enhancing community engagement strategies.