Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding the Universal Immunization Schedule among Mothers of Infants Mrs. Jose Aparnna T1,*, Mrs. Alexander Greeda2, Dr. Bose Anuradha3, Dr. Jeyaseelan Visalakshi4 1PG Student (2012–2014 batch), Community Health Nursing department, College Of Nursing, Christian Medical College, Vellore 2Department of Community Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Christian Medical College, Vellore 3Professor of Paediatrics, Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore 4Department of Biostatistics, Christian Medical College, Vellore *Corresponding Author Email: aparnnajose@gmail.com
Online published on 7 July, 2018. Abstract Context Despite the introduction of new vaccines in the national immunization schedule, the existing reported cases of vaccine preventable diseases among children illustrates the lack of information among mothers Objectives This study was aimed to assess and compare the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding revised universal immunization schedule among the mothers of infants residing in rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu in India Methodology This descriptive study was undertaken in the selected rural and urban areas of Vellore. Pilot study was conducted, the study design and tool were found to be feasible. Using convenient sampling technique, 200 mothers were enrolled in the study. Data collection instrument was prepared by the investigators. The Content Validity Index was 0.90. The data were collected and analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics Results Most of the mothers were in the age group of 21–25 years in the rural and urban areas (55%, 61%) respectively. Main proportions of the mothers were Hindus (85%) in rural areas and (57%) were Muslims in urban areas. Regarding the educational status of mothers, majority were attained middle school education, 53% from rural areas and 52% from urban areas. It was found that inadequate knowledge prevails among mothers both in rural (44%) and urban (14%) areas. Higher percentage of the mothers had moderately favorable attitude regarding revised universal immunization schedule in rural areas(99%) and urban areas (100%) respectively.100% immunization coverage was found both in rural and urban areas. There was a highly significant association between the knowledge and place of residence (P<0.001) Conclusion This study identified an existing wide gap between the knowledge and practice which need to be addressed by large scale awareness campaigns for the health promotion of the country. Top Keywords Immunization, Mothers, Infants, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice. Top |