Parents' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Childhood Vaccination During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is known to have an enormous impact on improving child health. In Indonesia, the government has included several vaccines in the national immunization program. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice on childhood immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. METHODS: A valid and reliable questionnaire was delivered to approximately 276 parents in Jakarta and Bandung, representing the epicenter of the pandemic. This study was conducted from June 2020 to February 2021. The correlations between parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practice with the characteristics of the respondents were investigated. In addition, multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with good vaccination practice. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean scores of parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice on childhood vaccinations were 7.22 (± 1.30) out of 9 points, 3.93 (± 0.31) out of 4 points, and 3.59 (± 0.97) out of 5 points, respectively. Respondents graduated from university were more knowledgeable than those graduated from senior high school (p-value <0.05). Employed participants had better scores in knowledge and practice, compared to unemployed participants (p-value <0.05). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study found positive correlations between participants' knowledge and attitude, knowledge and practice, and attitude and practice on childhood vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.