ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF PARENTS TOWARDS CHILDHOOD VACCINATION IN EASTERN PROVINCE OF SAUDI ARABIA

Immunization is defined as the process of inducing immunity and protection against infectious diseases through administration of vaccines and immunizations. Vaccinations have made a major impact on reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality, particularly among pediatric patients. Unfortunately, vaccination coverage is not as optimum as it should be in most of the communities in developing countries. It gained a lot of attention and effort in many countries worldwide, and eastern province Saudi Arabia is not an exception. Parents knowledge and awareness about the importance of vaccination wasn’t given enough attention and care as it as shown to be poor and insufficient. A lot of aspects of knowledge and attitudes toward vaccination and practice of vaccination must get more effort and time. Some studies have showed that the parent’s knowledge and attitude had a huge impact on getting their children vaccinated and immunized. Parents’ education by health care worker regarding vaccination and immunization each visit seems to be the most effective way which directly impacts on better practice of vaccination and minimizing the chance for vaccination delay. The aim of this study to assess childhood vaccination and to evaluate parents of under-fives knowledge and awareness toward childhood vaccination in Maternity and children hospital Dammam. Methods: This study will be a cross-sectional study design which will involve parents of children under five years old who have access to immunization services and antenatal care at maternity children hospital –Dammam utilizing structured questionnaire developed for the study. Results: The knowledge score regarding the towards childhood vaccination showed that 18.4% have poor knowledge, 53.4% have moderate knowledge, 26.6%have good knowledge and 1.6% have Excellent Knowledge. Conclusion and recommendation: The study conclude that 18.4% have poor knowledge, 53.4% have moderate knowledge, 26.6%have good knowledge and 1.6% have Excellent Knowledge. This study findings indicate that more research is needed to educate parents about the importance of childhood vaccination and how it can prevent deaths and the effects of vaccination delay. Keywords: immunization, vaccine, parents, children, awareness, knowledge