INTRODUCTION
Immunization programs are one of the most well-recognized and successful public health programs across the world. Despite the current universal immunization programme, India still experiences some of the highest preventable childhood mortality of any country in the world. This shows that the benefits of the program have not reached the mass population. This may be attributed to vaccine hesitancy. Lack of awareness, imprecise information, religious and community beliefs are some reasons considered for vaccine hesitancy amongst people. Increasing mobility necessitating periodic changes in health care providers for vaccinations will continue to occur, unless new strategies and campaigns become standard. This study aims to find out the attitude and knowledge of the general public towards vaccination. The results would help to target interventions to modify knowledge and attitudes which can prepare future healthcare workers for responsible roles in vaccination programs.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the knowledge and attitude of general public about vaccination
METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst the general public. A questionnaire made in both languages- English and Marathi was sent in the form of Google Forms. The purpose of the research was explained, and their participation was purely voluntary. The questionnaire consisted of two parts- first section consisted of socio-demographic data and the second section consisted of questions that would test the knowledge and attitude of the participant which included advantages of vaccinations, necessity of booster doses, venue of vaccination, preference of vaccination in their household etc.
RESULTS
Out of 603 respondents, 44.77% (n=270) were males, 54.4% (n=328) were females and 0.8% (n=5) preferred not to say. Majority of respondents belonged to the age group of 18-29 years (45%). 43% (n=262) were graduates and 49.09% (n=296) had 1 or 2 children. 98.84% (n=596) knew the meaning, reason and advantages of vaccination. 93.86% (n=566) of the population was aware about booster doses. 84.74% (n=511) knew about the places where they could vaccinate their kids. 97.3% (n=587) people were aware that “Do Boond Zindagi ke” is the slogan for pulse polio campaign. When people were asked about their opinion of buying an optional yet expensive vaccine, 90.71% (n=547) said that they would vaccinate both girl and boy child. The respondents were asked about what they would do if the Corona vaccine was made available but was a bit costly. 90.3% (n=545) said that they will be able to buy it for their entire family. Many people leave vaccination course in between. 73.3% (n=443) felt that the main reason for this is less awareness about vaccination programs. This highlights the need for increasing awareness about the vaccination programs amongst the general population.
CONCLUSION:
People are willing to vaccinate both their male and female child. They are familiar with the concept of vaccination but there is lack of awareness about vaccine preventable diseases and campaigns. Efforts should be put on to increase the number of immunization ‘delivery points’ especially in rural and remote areas having poor access to health facilities.
