Brief report: Parental attitudes and knowledge on routine childhood immunization: an experience from Central Sri Lanka

BMC Res Notes. 2018 Jun 22;11(1):402. doi: 10.1186/s13104-018-3519-y.

Abstract

Objectives: A lack of correct awareness about immunization among parents put them at risk of falling prey to the anti-vaccine movement. This risk is present even in countries with a high vaccine uptake. This study was done with the objective of assessing the awareness of parents childhood vaccination.

Results: In this study conducted among 141 parents accompanying children to a routine clinic we found that 53.2% of the participants had average or above average knowledge. Level of knowledge was associated with the level of education (OR: 2.7, 95% CI 1.4-5.4) and the sex of the parent (OR: 3.4, 95% CI 1.2-9.3). While our sample size is small, we recommend educational programmes for parents to strengthen their knowledge on vaccination to safeguard the continuity of a successful control of vaccine preventable diseases.

Keywords: Awareness; Hesitancy; Immunization; Sri Lanka; Vaccination.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Immunization
  • India
  • Male
  • Parents*
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
  • Sri Lanka
  • Vaccination*
  • Young Adult