Background: Vaccines have thrived as one of the most successful health interventions that have diminished occurrence of infectious diseases and improved quality of life in the population. Although the vaccination coverage has been gradually increasing, the average total immunization coverage is far less than the desired outcome. Parental decisions regarding vaccination are very vital for increasing the vaccination rate and parent compliance to the immunization schedule.
Objective: To analyze the extent of parents' Knowledge, Attitude and Practice(KAP) about child vaccination in rural areas such that it can be correlated with the immunization status of their child amongst native participants of Bangalore.
Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out on 110 Parents residing in rural areas of Bangalore who had children below 5 years of age. The sociodemographic details of the parents were collected and they were made to fill a KAP Questionnaire. Each question under Knowledge and Attitude was scored to assess their KAP level regarding child vaccination. The immunization status of the child was assessed by counting on the parents' word for it.
Results: A total of 110 parents participated in the study from different rural clusters of Bangalore. Assessment of the extent of Knowledge, attitude and practice about child vaccination showed that a majority of them (72.7 %,) had good knowledge score followed by average (21.8%) and poor (5.4%) whereas 85.4% of the respondents were found to have good attitude towards child vaccination. The immunization status of the child was assessed by counting on the parents' word for it and.68.1% children were completely immunized whereas 7.2 % received incomplete immunization. The immunization status of the remaining 24.5% of the children was uncertain as assessment was not possible due to lack of surety in the parents part regarding the immunization status of their child. Although parental knowledge was not found to be significantly associated with the immunization status of their child, there was a significant association between the attitude of parents towards child vaccination and the immunization status of their child. A very significant correlation was also seen between the parental knowledge and attitude score with p≤0.0001.
Conclusion: The parental Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about child vaccination are important determinants of the immunization status of their child. A combined effort from the members of the healthcare team and social health workers can definitely make the attainment of the targeted immunization coverage rate in the country possible.
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