Imran Shaikh, Khola Noreen, Nadia Khalid, Farhan Muhammad Qureshi.
Practices and preference for vaccination among parents of children less than 5 year of age attending public and private sector hospitals.
Rawal Med J Jan ;44(1):212-5.

Objectives: To evaluate preference for vaccination among parents of children under 5 years attending public and private sector hospitals and to assess reasons of parental preference for choosing particular setting. Methodology: The study was conducted at four major public and private sector hospitals of metropolitan city of Karachi. A pretested interviewer administered questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done on SPSS version 21. Results: Participants of private health care service were found to be more informed as compared to government setup (p=0.008). Most of the participants preferred the private sector and there was statistically significant difference with regards to vaccines availability, referral, less waiting time and accessibility of trained and well behaved staff. Service availability at low cost was the only reason for preferring public health care facility. Significant factors contributing towards opting private health care facility for subsequent vaccination were good attitude of vaccinator, briefing about the vaccine, details guidance regarding side effects of vaccine, comfort of waiting room and cleanliness of clinic Conclusion: Participants attending the public hospitals are not satisfied with the services but mostly they choose public hospitals because of their availability at low cost. Result of our study supported the claim that the private sector is usually more responsible and medically efficient due to easy availability of vaccines, less waiting time and well trained and behaved staff than the public sector. It is recommended that more emphasis should be placed in developing the human physical infrastructure in the public sector.

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