Maternal Knowledge, Attitudes, and Health Practices Regarding Mandatory Childhood Vaccination in Baclayon, Bohol

Abstract

A child’s vaccination status depends heavily on a mother’s knowledge, attitude, and practices toward vaccination, as mothers are typically the primary decision-makers and caregivers responsible for their child’s health and well-being. Knowledge refers to a mother’s understanding of the purpose, schedule, and benefits of vaccination; attitude involves her beliefs and perceptions about vaccine safety and efficacy; and practices are the actions she takes to ensure her child receives timely and complete vaccination. This study was conducted to assess maternal knowledge, attitude, and health practices regarding mandatory childhood vaccinations in Baclayon, Bohol, in response to rising vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation. The aim was to understand current awareness levels and vaccination behaviors to ultimately improve vaccination rates and promote children’s health in the community. Using a descriptive correlational design with stratified random sampling, the study focused on mothers with children under one year old from selected barangays in Baclayon. A validated questionnaire was used, and strict ethical protocols were observed during data collection and analysis. Results showed that mothers had high knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practices toward childhood vaccination. No significant relationship was found between their demographic profiles and their knowledge, attitudes, or practices. However, a strong positive correlation existed between maternal knowledge, attitudes, and practices, indicating that higher knowledge is associated with more positive attitudes and better vaccination practices.