KNOWLEDGE OF OPTIONAL VACCINES AMONG MOTHERS OF “UNDER FIVE CHILDREN” “Healthy Children Today Make Healthy Nation Tomorrow”-Jawaharlal Nehru

Statement of Problem: The mother plays a major role in promoting the health of children. Several misconception, ignorance and inadequacy of knowledge in relation to optional vaccine is prevalent among mothers especially under five children. The effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding optional vaccines among mothers of under five children in Kovilpalayam at Coimbatore. Study Objectives: a) To assess the pretest knowledge regarding optional vaccines among the mothers with under five children. b) To evaluate the effectiveness of a planned teaching programme in terms of gain in knowledge score. Methodology: One group pretest and post test experimental design. The sample for this study consisted for 40 mothers selected by convenience sampling technique. A structured interview schedule was used to assess the knowledge among mothers under five children. Result: 40 samples were enrolled in the study. Inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The obtained‘t’ value for knowledge was 18.91 at (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated that the knowledge regarding optional vaccine among mothers with under five children was significantly improved after education. 1