Effect of maternal education on maternal awareness and adoption of immunization services in Cuttack City Odisha.

Research Question: Does maternal education influence childhood immunization practices Setting: Immunization and Health Guidance Clinic Study Design: Cross-sectional Participants: Mothers of the children aged 12-23 months Methodology: Data was collected from mothers of all children aged between 12-23 m who visited the immunization clinic from 1st March to 30th April 2008 and their awareness and perception regarding immunization practices was assessed. Proportions Odds Ratio 95% Confidence Interval and Chi-Square test were applied to analyze the results. Results: Routine Immunization of children was known to 50.9% of mothers. Majority of the mothers (76.8%) had adequate knowledge about 6 killer childhood diseases knew the purpose of immunization (71.4%) and adverse effects following immunization (67.9%). Mothers with higher educational levels had significantly better knowledge about immunization and their children were more likely to be completely immunized.