Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Child Immunization Amongst Mothers of Under-Five Children Attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu State, Nigeria

<ns5:p>Background Immunization is one of the most crucial public health tools for the prevention and control of morbidity and mortality of life-threatening infectious diseases. It remains one of the most cost-effective health strategies, making it available to very vulnerable, low-income, and hard-to-reach populations. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 308 mothers of children under 5 at the Institute of Child Health, Old UNTH, and the Children’s outpatient department, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, selected through a probability sampling technique. Data were obtained using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square. Results This study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of child immunization amongst mothers of children under 5 in the UNTH, Enugu. The mean age of participants was 32.08 ± 7.65 years. The majority were married, with most attaining a tertiary education. Most respondents belonged to monogamous families, with a mean age of the youngest child being 1.60 ± 1.13 years. Knowledge was relatively good; the majority (63%) of the respondents had good knowledge, while just 37% had bad knowledge, as knowledge of the last immunization (13.6%), diseases preventable by immunization (30.5%), and the number of visits before one year (52.9%) was relatively poor. Attitudes toward immunization were generally positive, with 97% of respondents having positive attitudes while just 3% had negative attitudes. Practice was significantly associated with age and marital status, with younger and single respondents more likely to have children who were not immunized. Conclusions These findings highlight that, although overall knowledge, attitude, and practice levels are high, targeted interventions may be needed to address gaps among younger, single, less-educated mothers and those delivering in facilities with limited counseling. Recommendations Maternal and child health programs should be strengthened to provide comprehensive immunization education during antenatal and postnatal visits.</ns5:p>