Knowledge, attitude, and practices of mothers from a rural community in Pampanga, Philippines toward childhood immunization: A cross sectional survey

Abstract

Background/ObjectivesVaccination offers protection against common preventable diseases, and mothers have a significant role in determining the vaccination status of their children. The study aimed to assess the mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward childhood immunization and associate these variables to their demographic profile. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to May 2019 involving 240 mothers from a rural community in Pampanga, Philippines. ResultsBased on the results, 67.50% of the mothers showed a high level of knowledge and a positive attitude toward vaccination especially on the importance (96.30%), benefits (92.10%), and safety (95.30%) of immunization. Majority of the mothers also have good practices showing that 90.40% of them have children who are completely immunized, and 91.70% of them complied with the vaccination schedule. It was also reported that 63.75% obtain information about immunization from health care workers. Majority of them (91.30%) go to government facilities to avail of immunization because of the free services and easy accessibility. However, there were no significant associations on mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice and their demographic profile. ConclusionThe study revealed that mothers in the selected locale showed a high level of knowledge, a positive attitude, and good practices toward childhood immunization. Strengthening of primary health care facilities are needed to further increase the number of mothers with high knowledge on immunization and address other issues concerning childhood vaccination.