Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) defines optional vaccines as vaccines that are not free through the government's immunization program but are recommended by the IAP to offer additional protection. Optional vaccines are as significant as vaccines under universal immunization programme and have shown to be a secure and reliable way to prevent specific illnesses. As the literature on the Knowledge of mothers regarding optional vaccines for under 5 years children in India are relatively scanty and there is limited documented evidence, this study is conducted to generate more data to assess the knowledge of optional vaccines among them. OBJECTIVES: To assess knowledge of optional vaccines for under 5 years children among mothers in urban and rural areas of Bangalore and find out the association between mother's knowledge of under-5-year-old children regarding optional vaccines and selected socio-demographic variables. METHODOLOGY: Conducted in the urban and rural field practice area of Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bangalore among mothers of under 5-year-old children from July 2024 to September 2024. Data was collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire, entered MS Excel, and analyzed using statistical software, SPSS version 29 (IBM, United States). RESULTS: Urban mothers who were aware of optional vaccines were 16% graduates, 23.6% Homemakers and 12.9% belonged to the upper-class category. Rural mothers, who were aware of optional vaccines were 12% graduates, 27.1% Homemakers and 15.6% belonged to the upper-middle-class category. CONCLUSION: To conclude, a mother's education, occupation, and socioeconomic status played an important role in their knowledge of optional vaccines.