Shahid Hussain, Ramesh Kumar, Mansoor Ali, Ejaz Ahmed Khan, Jamil Ahmed, Shahzad Ali Khan, Sadat Hussain.
Perceptions about measles among mothers living in rural area: across-sectional study at Larkana, Sindh.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;3(2):2-5.

Introduction: Measles is still a public health problem in Pakistan. Despite disease prevention initiatives taken by the government, the disease is on the increase in rural and remote areas of the country . About 21,000 children die annually due to measles, which is about 58 children dying daily due to this infection. 63% coverage by vaccination has been reported in Pakistan, which is below the overall global coverage. This disease is endemic in the country and is considered to be a major cause of childhood morbidity & mortality. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with mixed methodological approach was conducted at rural union council of district Larkana. Total 106 mothers were selected for the study by adapting the multistage sampling technique. Asemistructured questionnaire was adapted and focus Group Discussions were carried out with mothers residing outside the study site. Results: Study revealed that all the parents somehow had knowledge about vaccination, 85% of the mothers realized measles vaccination to be beneficial, but only 14% had got their children immunized, 41% of the mothers in area of study did not vaccinate their children because of the fear of bad effects of vaccines. There was significant relationship between the literacy of mothers and their knowledge about the total doses recommended for measles (p value 0.06). Conclusion: The study revealed that knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers about measles are related to their economic status and better socio-cultural factors, which is significantly related with mother's level of education. (Pak J Public Health 2013; 3(2): 2-5)

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