Abstract

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE REGARDING CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN: A COMMUNITY STUDY

Sheba T. Isac*, Sonia Abraham, Subna Nazar and Srinivas Mugulnagaon

Abstract

Background: Pregnant mothers’ knowledge and attitude about immunization is an important predictor factor for their children’s immunization status. This study was initiated in the context of WHOs report on major disruption of childhood immunization programs and services around the world due to COVID-19 pandemic. Aim and Objective: The aim of the study was to analyse the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women towards childhood immunization and the objective is to evaluate the factors influencing it, to determine the misconceptions and to improve the awareness and compliance towards vaccination. Material and Methods: Community based prospective educational study was conducted among pregnant women in selected areas of Kalaburagi. The data’s were collected using data collection form and questionnaires. After a gap of 14 days followed by education post test scores were taken. The pre and post data were compared using student’s t- test. Result: Out of 130 pregnant women surveyed, the knowledge score of pre-test was 72.11%, whereas post-test the score was 89.0%. The attitude score of pre-test was 82.0%, while the post-test score was 97.8% respectively. This shows a clear indication of improvement, followed by education. Our study demonstrated that certain factors (education status (p=0.027), residence area (p=0.041), trimesters of pregnancy (p=

Keywords: Childhood Immunization, Pregnant Women, Knowledge and Attitude.