Determinants of Parental Knowledge and Attitude towards Poliomyelitis and its Immunization in Sialkot city: A Mix Method Study

Background and Objectives: Poliomyelitis still remains a significant public health concern in developing countries though it has been eradicated from most of the world. Illiteracy, cultural constraints, and skepticism of the general public regarding vaccination are considered major impediments to its successful eradication from developing countries. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate parental knowledge and attitudes about poliomyelitis and its immunization in a local population as well as to elucidate the determinants and barriers relating to the immunization process. Methods: This mixed-method study was conducted on 350 consenting parents who accompanied their children under 5 years of age at the pediatric outdoors of a tertiary care hospital in Sialkot, Pakistan. Parents of only those children were included for the study who had failed to receive a polio dose during the last two supplementary immunization activities The parents were interviewed on a pre-tested, semi structured questionnaire. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for statistical analysis considering p-value <0.05 as significant. Results: Among 350 parents, 91.7% lacked knowledge about polio vaccination and 82% reported a negative attitude towards the disease and its immunization. A total of 11.4% of subjects completely refused to get their child vaccinated. The socioeconomic status, religious myths, level of literacy, and occupation of the parents significantly influenced their level of knowledge and attitude toward the disease and its vaccination (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Poor knowledge and negative attitudes of parents towards poliomyelitis vaccination were observed. Fear of side effects and religious beliefs were identified as the most common barriers to immunization toward achieving polio eradication.