Does an educational intervention improve parents' knowledge about immunization? Experience from Malaysia.

Ammar Ihsan Awadh,Omer Qutaiba Al-Lela,Siti Halimah Bux,Ramadan M Elkalmi,Hazrina Hadi,Mohamed Azmi Hassali

doi:10.1186/1471-2431-14-254

Abstract

BackgroundParents’ knowledge about immunization is an important predictor factor for their children’s immunization status. The aims of this study were to assess parents’ knowledge and to evaluate the effect of a short educational intervention on improving parents’ knowledge of childhood immunization.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a pre- and post-test intervention survey of a single group was conducted among Malaysian parents. Changes in total knowledge score before and after the intervention were measured using a validated questionnaire. The intervention consisted of an animated movie and lecture using simple understandable language. Wilcoxon signed ranks test and the McNemar x2 test were applied to compare the differences in knowledge before and after the intervention.ResultsSeventy-three parents were enrolled in this study; the majority were mothers (n = 64, 87.7%). Parents’ knowledge about childhood immunization increased significantly after the intervention compared to the baseline results (p < 0.001). There were significant differences between parents’ knowledge and their educational level and monthly income (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005), respectively.ConclusionsA short educational intervention designed for parents had a positive effect on their knowledge about immunization. Educational interventions targeting parents with low levels of education and income are needed. Further studies investigating the actual effectiveness of such interventions on immunization rates and statuses are required.

Highlights

Parents’ knowledge about immunization is an important predictor factor for their children’s immunization status
Study objectives The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge of Malaysian parents about childhood immunization and to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational seminar for improving parents’ knowledge about childhood immunization, and to compare parents’ knowledge scores across select demographic characteristics
In order to get the baseline knowledge about immunization, preevaluation questionnaires were administered to parents who attended the seminar

Summary

Introduction

Parents’ knowledge about immunization is an important predictor factor for their children’s immunization status. Vaccine-hesitant individuals have been defined as “a heterogeneous group in the middle of a continuum ranging from total acceptors to complete refusers” [3]. The three key determinants of vaccine hesitancy are: contextual influences, individual and group influences (including knowledge and awareness), and vaccine and vaccination-specific issues [3,4]. The success of childhood vaccination has made seeing a child with measles or polio very rare. There are constantly reports in the media and internet about adverse vaccine reactions and concerns about the safety of vaccines. Parents’ decisions can be negatively influenced by the huge amount of conflicting vaccine-safety information and misinformation on the internet [5,6]

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