JERUSALEM, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Children of uneducated women more likely remain unvaccinated or delayed vaccinated than others, according to a research published Wednesday by Israeli Ben-Gurion University (BGU).
The study shows that there is an inverse link between the level of mothers' formal education and the likelihood that 2-to-4-year-old children receive the full course of state-recommended vaccinations as scheduled.
The review of records, which included 2,072 subjects at 5 mother-and-baby centers in southern Israel during the 2015-2016 period, focuses on hepatitis A and B, diphtheria-tetanus-acellular, pertussis and measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccines.
The Israeli Ministry of Health calls for children to be vaccinated against the diseases between the ages of 18 months and 7 years.
Mothers' education was inversely associated with the probability of vaccination delay by 4 to 9 percent, according to the study.
No correlation between levels of paternal education and vaccination delays, it found.
Researchers conclude that higher education that emphasizes the importance of timely vaccination could also act as a catalyst to improve other health-related behaviors.
