Knowledge and Attitude among Mothers on Immunization of Children in Urban Slums under GMCH, Guwahati, Assam

Background: Immunization is one of the most significant, cost effective & stimulatory public health intervention. It forms the major focus of child survival programs throughout the world. Though immunization services are offered free in public health facilities, the immunization rate is not uniform both in the rural and urban areas. Materials and Method: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 155 mothers from August to October 2019 using a semi structured questionnaire to elicit the information about knowledge and attitude regarding immunization of children of age group 12 to 23 months. The age of the mother, education and socioeconomic status were taken into consideration. Results: 40% of the total respondents were fully immunized and the rest were incomplete. 58% of the respondents knew that disease could be prevented by immunization. Only 8% of the respondents knew 1 or 2 disease that could be prevented by immunization. 80% were in favour of vaccination and 78% were in favour to follow vaccination schedule. Conclusion: Immunization coverage for children is still lagging behind significantly, mainly because of poor knowledge, social and economic reasons. Hence there is a scope of improvement by generating awareness which will in turn lead to complete immunization coverage and safe childhood.