s Polio and its Vaccination: A Cross Sectional Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of General Public in district Abbottabad and Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Background: According to global eradication initiative program, poliomyelitis was eradicated all over the world except Pakistan and Afghanistan due to some challenges like misconceptions, non-compliances, political and militancy issues, etc. Objective: This study quantitatively evaluates the knowledge, attitude and perception of general public regarding polio and its vaccination in district Abbottabad and Mansehra, KPK, Pakistan. Method: A cross sectional study design involving 800 participants was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016 in district Abbottabad and Mansehra of KPK, Pakistan. To collect the data from eligible participants, pre tested self-administered questionnaire was used. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis was used to express the results of the study. Results: A total of 53.8% participants exhibited appropriate knowledge about polio and its vaccination. Higher qualification (p<0.001), urban locality (p<0.05), paid employed (p<0.05) and primary information source (p<0.001) were significantly associated with appropriate knowledge of polio and its vaccination. About 71.6% of the participants showed positive attitude towards polio and its vaccination. Older age (p<0.001), self-employment (p<0.05), high income (p<0.001), urban residence (p<0.001) and primary information source i.e. village and community leaders (p<0.05) were significantly associated with the positive attitudes of participants towards polio and its vaccination. About 56.90% participants had wrong perception about which treatment is best for polio. Overall perception about polio and its vaccination was significantly associated with participants of older age (p<0.001), gender specially females (p<0.05), employment status i.e. self- employment (p<0.001), higher income (p<0.001), marital status (p<0.05) and urban residency (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study identified some important issues related to polio vaccination which can help in eradicating polio by effective immunization campaigns in Pakistan.