Assessment of Parents’ Attitude toward EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Karachi

Abstract

Objective:To assess parents’ attitude toward EPI(Expanded program on Immunization) in three Tertiary Care Hospitals of Karachi Materials and Methods:This cross sectional hospital based study was conducted at three tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, PNS SHIFA Hospital, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) and Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) from a period of 20th July to 20th September, 2015. A structured questionnaire based interview was conducted on150 parents of children less than 5 year of age visiting for vaccination at these three tertiary care hospitals.Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results:A total of 150 parents were interviewed, out of which 93 (62.0%) parents vaccinated their child immediately after birth, 148(98.7%) parents considered EPI as beneficial for their child’s health, 113 (75.3%) parents were found to be aware of the complete vaccination schedule, 56(37.3%)parents had appropriate knowledge regarding vaccines and diseases enlisted on the EPI card, 139 (92.7%) parents kept the record of vaccination schedule, 143(95.3 %) parents didn’t ignored vaccination due to increased number of children and 21(14%)parents had fear regarding vaccination program. Conclusion:Parent’s attitude toward EPI was positive. However, knowledge about vaccines and diseases and vaccines enlisted on EPI card was low