Brief report: Parental attitudes and knowledge on routine childhood immunization: an experience from Central Sri Lanka

OBJECTIVES: A lack of correct awareness about immunization among parents put them at risk of falling prey to the anti-vaccine movement. This risk is present even in countries with a high vaccine uptake. This study was done with the objective of assessing the awareness of parents childhood vaccination. RESULTS: In this study conducted among 141 parents accompanying children to a routine clinic we found that 53.2% of the participants had average or above average knowledge. Level of knowledge was associated with the level of education (OR: 2.7, 95% CI 1.4–5.4) and the sex of the parent (OR: 3.4, 95% CI 1.2–9.3). While our sample size is small, we recommend educational programmes for parents to strengthen their knowledge on vaccination to safeguard the continuity of a successful control of vaccine preventable diseases.