Routine immunization - do people know about it? A study among caretakers of children attending pulse polio immunization in East delhi.
OBJECTIVE
Do caretakers of children under five years have sufficient knowledge regarding routine immunization (RI)?


OBJECTIVE
To assess the knowledge about RI among caretakers of young children.


METHODS
Pulse polio immunization centres in East Delhi.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Six hundred and eighty-two caretakers accompanying children under 5 years to pulse polio booths in November 2006. STUDY TOOL: Pre-tested semi-open-ended questionnaire.


METHODS
Proportions, Chi-square test.


RESULTS
The proportions of respondents who had awareness about different aspects of RI, such as weekday of RI (37.0%), age group for RI (49.1%), number of visits required in the first year of life (27.0%), were all low. When asked to name the four diseases covered under the RI program in Delhi, only 268 (39.3%) could name at least three. The education level of respondents was strongly associated with their knowledge about RI.


CONCLUSIONS
The need of the hour is to make RI a 'felt need' of the community. Making caretakers more aware about RI is a vital step in achieving this goal.
Sharma
Rahul
R
Department of Community Medicine, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Bhasin
Sanjiv K
SK