Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 4;8(Suppl):S22-S26.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.03.014. Online ahead of print.

Mothers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding child immunization, and the association with child immunization status in Medan City during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bryant Elbert  1 , Cut Meliza Zainumi  2 , Raden Ajeng Dwi Pujiastuti  3 , Muhammad Rizki Yaznil  4 , Gema Nazri Yanni  5 , Ivana Alona  6 , Inke Nadia D Lubis  5   7
Affiliations

Mothers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding child immunization, and the association with child immunization status in Medan City during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bryant Elbert et al. IJID Reg. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to healthcare access worldwide and has impacted basic childhood immunization services. A decline in immunization coverage can cause immunity gaps and lead to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Our study evaluated the association between mothers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding immunization and child immunization status during the COVID-19 pandemic in Medan, Indonesia.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from April to November 2021. Mothers with children aged 0-12 months were interviewed about their knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding immunization, and their child's immunization status.

Results: Of 196 participants, 46.5% had low knowledge on immunization, 41.3% had a negative attitude, and 20.4% had negative behavior. Only 62.8% of participants had children with a complete vaccination status, and mothers with moderate knowledge (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.08-6.61), negative attitude (OR 5.33, 95% CI 2.71-10.59), and negative behavior (OR 7.88, 95% CI 3.36-19.47) were more likely to not vaccinate their children.

Conclusion: Mothers' attitude, behavior, and educational background were associated with child immunization status. Recovery efforts to improve immunization coverage are urgently needed, and should include efforts to reduce mothers' hesitancy regarding child vaccination during the pandemic.

Keywords: Attitude; Behavior; COVID-19; Children; Immunization; Knowledge.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared

References

    1. World Health Organization, Immunization coverage. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/immunization-coverage, 2021 (accessed on December 2, 2021).
    1. Causey K, Fullman N, Sorensen RJD, Galles NC, Zheng P, Aravkin A, Danovaro-Holliday MC, Martinez-Piedra R, Sodha SV, Velandia-González MP, Gacic-Dobo M, Castro E, He J, Schipp M, Deen A, Hay SI, Lim SS, Mosser JF. Estimating global and regional disruptions to routine childhood vaccine coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: a modelling study. Lancet. 2021;398(10299):522–534. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01337-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia, Profil Kesehatan Indonesia 2021. https://www.kemkes.go.id/downloads/resources/download/pusdatin/profil-ke..., 2022 (accessed December 15, 2022).
    1. Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi Sumatera Utara, Laporan Akuntabilitas Kinerja Instansi Pemerintah (LAKIP) Program Pencegahan dan Pengendalian Penyakit (SATKER DEKONSENTRASI 05). https://e-renggar.kemkes.go.id/file2018/e-performance/1-079022-2tahunan-..., 2021 (accessed December 2, 2021).
    1. UNICEF and the Ministry of Health, Indonesia, Routine immunization for children during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: perceptions of parents and caregivers. https://www.unicef.org/indonesia/reports/routine-immunization-children-d..., 2020 (accessed December 15, 2022).