Parents’s knowledge and awareness about hepatitis B can influence the vaccination of their children

Table 1 Characteristics of the children and their parents included in study (n = 384)

Character	Value
Gender of the child (boys)	226 (58.9)
Age (months)
≤ 18	167 (43.5)
19-59	175 (45.6)
≥ 60	42 (10.9)
Birth order
First	208 (54.2)
Second	116 (30.2)
Third	38 (9.9)
Fourth	17 (4.4)
Fifth	5 (1.3)
Place of delivery
Home delivery	22 (5.7)
Hospital delivery	362 (94.3)
Religion
Hindu	200 (52.1)
Muslim	181 (47.1)
Other religion	3 (0.8)
Residence
Rural	83 (21.6)
Urban	301 (78.4)
Information provided by
Mother	224 (58.3)
Father	135 (35.2)
Any other guardian	25 (6.5)
Education of mother
Illiterate	76 (19.8)
Up to class 8th	65 (16.9)
Class 9th to class 12th	106 (27.6)
Graduate	108 (28.1)
Postgraduate or professional	29 (7.6)
Education of father
Illiterate	52 (13.5)
Up to class 8th	78 (20.3)
Class 9th to class 12th	98 (25.5)
Graduate	109 (28.4)
Postgraduate or professional	47 (12.2)
Setting in which vaccination were primarily done
Public hospital	331 (86.2)
Private hospital	53 (13.8)
Parents perception about the vaccines
Vaccine is a nutritional supplement
Yes	10 (2.6)
No	317 (82.6)
Not sure	57 (14.8)
Vaccine is given to promote growth
Yes	20 (5.2)
No	311 (81)
Not sure	53 (13.8)
Vaccine is given to prevent infections
Yes	359 (93.5)
No	4 (1)
Not sure	21 (5.5)

Categorical data are expressed as n (%).

Table 2 Awareness of the parents about the vaccines included in childhood immunization program

Vernacular name of the childhood illness	Response of the parents
	Yes	No
Tuberculosis	51.8	48.2
Poliomyelitis	94.3	5.7
Hepatitis B virus	29.2	70.8
Diphtheria (Gal Ghotu)	20	80
Pertussis (Kali Khanshi)	7.8	92.2
Measles (Khasara)	68	32
Mumps (Galsua)	29.7	70.3
Pneumonia	69	31
Tetanus	87.5	12.5
Rubella	10.2	89.8
Diarrhoea	70	30
Meningitis/Encephalitis (Dimagi Bukhar)	56.5	43.4

Data are presented as percentage (%).

Table 3 Knowledge and awareness of the parents about the hepatitis B (n = 384)

Domain examined	No.	Question	Response of the parents			Domain performance
			Yes	No	Not sure
Epidemiology	1	Have you heard about hepatitis B vaccine?	29.5	64.2	6.3	61.9
	2	Does hepatitis B virus infection occur in our country?	70.8	6.2	23
	3	Can hepatitis B virus infect a child?	61.9	6.0	32.1
Route of transmission	4	Does hepatitis B virus transmit through food and water?	35.8	14.1	50.1	41.2
	5	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with casual contacts such as playing, handshake etc.?	33.7	18.5	47.8
	6	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with sexual contact?	46.2	9.7	44.1
	7	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with unsafe injection?	53.2	8.4	38.4
	8	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with blood transfusion?	54.3	7.3	38.4
	9	Does hepatitis B virus transmit from pregnant women to her child?	41.2	9.1	49.7
	10	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with sharing of food, bed, utensils etc.?	35.0	17.5	47.5
Consequences of hepatitis B virus infection	11	Which organ is affected with hepatitis B virus?	15.7	8.9	75.4	15.8
	12	What illness is caused by hepatitis B virus? (correct answer was Jaundice or similar phrases)	18.0	7.3	74.7
	13	Can hepatitis B virus cause liver failure?	15.9	8.1	76.0
	14	Can hepatitis B virus cause liver cancer?	13.6	9.7	76.7
Prevention of HBV infection	15	Is there any vaccine to prevent hepatitis B infection?	25.8	7.8	66.4	23.0
	16	Is the vaccine effective against hepatitis B infection?	23.0	7.8	69.2
	17	How many doses of hepatitis B vaccine are given in routine vaccination? (correct answer is three dose)	7.6	9.4	83.0
Treatment of hepatitis B	18	Can hepatitis B be treated completely?	20.6	8.6	70.7	70.7

Data are expressed as percentage (%).

Table 4 Comparison of children with or without age-appropriate hepatitis B vaccination

Character	Values		P value
	Child is vaccinated for hepatitis B (n = 322)	Child is not vaccinated for hepatitis B (n = 62)
Gender of the child (boys)	59	58	0.89
Age (months)			0.548
≤ 18	37	73
19-59	51	18
≥ 60	11	9
Birth order			0.4
First	56	45
Second	29	39
Third	10	11
Fourth	4	5
Fifth	1	0
Place of delivery			< 0.01
Home delivery	4	13
Hospital delivery	96	87
Religion			0.08
Hindu	54	40
Muslim	45	60
Other religion	1	0
Residence			0.14
Rural	23	14
Urban	77	86
Education of mother			0.13
Illiterate	20	16
Up to class 8th	15	24
Class 9th to class 12th	28	26
Graduate	30	21
Postgraduate or professional	7	13
Education of father			0.32
Illiterate	14	13
Up to class 8th	19	26
Class 9th to class 12th	26	22
Graduate	30	21
Postgraduate or professional	11	18
Setting in which vaccination were primarily done			< 0.01
Public hospital	73	89
Private hospital	27	11
Any family member has or had hepatitis B infection			0.36
Yes	2	3
No	90	84
Not sure	8	13

Data are presented as percentage (%).

Table 5 Comparison of hepatitis B related knowledge and awareness of parents of children with or without hepatitis B vaccination

No.	Question related to hepatitis B knowledge and awareness	Parents’ response	Childs vaccination status		P value
			Child is vaccinated for hepatitis B (n = 322)	Child is not vaccinated for hepatitis B (n = 62)
1	Have you heard about hepatitis B vaccine?	Yes	29	36	0.39
		No	65	56
		Not sure	6	8
2	Does hepatitis B virus infection occur in our country?	Yes	73	58	0.02
		No	5	13
		Not sure	22	29
3	Can hepatitis B virus infect a child?	Yes	65	47	< 0.01
		No	4	16
		Not sure	31	37
4	Does hepatitis B virus transmit through food and water?	Yes	38	24	0.04
		No	13	23
		Not sure	49	53
5	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with casual contacts such as playing, handshake etc.?	Yes	37	19	< 0.01
		No	16	32
		Not sure	47	49
6	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with sexual contact?	Yes	49	32	< 0.01
		No	8	21
		Not sure	43	47
7	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with unsafe injection?	Yes	55	47	0.01
		No	6	18
		Not sure	39	35
8	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with blood transfusion?	Yes	56	43	< 0.01
		No	6	18
		Not sure	38	39
9	Does hepatitis B virus transmit from pregnant women to her child?	Yes	44	29	0.01
		No	7	18
		Not sure	49	53
10	Does hepatitis B virus transmit with sharing of food, bed, utensils etc.?	Yes	38	21	0.02
		No	16	27
		Not sure	46	52
11	Which organ is affected with hepatitis B virus?	Yes	15	23	0.02
		No	7	16
		Not sure	78	61
12	What illness is caused by hepatitis B virus? (answer was Jaundice or similar phrases)	Yes	17	23	< 0.01
		No	6	18
		Not sure	77	59
13	Does hepatitis B virus cause liver failure?	Yes	15	19	< 0.01
		No	6	19
		Not sure	79	62
14	Does hepatitis B virus cause liver cancer?	Yes	13	18	< 0.01
		No	7	22
		Not sure	80	60
15	Is there any vaccine to prevent hepatitis B infection?	Yes	26	27	< 0.01
		No	6	18
		Not sure	68	55
16	Is the vaccine effective to prevent hepatitis B infection?	Yes	23	23	< 0.01
		No	6	18
		Not sure	71	59
17	How many doses of hepatitis B vaccine are given in routine vaccination?	Yes	20	23	< 0.01
		No	6	21
		Not sure	74	56
18	Can hepatitis B be treated completely?	Yes	8	6	< 0.01
		No	7	21
		Not sure	85	73

Data are presented as percentage (%).