Report on The Measles Disease and Vaccination

The survey used in this study directly assessed parent's declarative knowledge of the measles disease and vaccination by asking about the symptoms and complications of measles. Analysis of the demographic characteristics of the parents participated in the present study showed that the majority of the sample perceived to have intermediate knowledge in regards to Measles. Similar to other studies conducted within the region , participants (89.7%) correctly identified that measles is much more common in children compared to other age groups. Moreover, 88.1 % of the sample recognized that measles is a very contagious infection. However, less than half of the participants (45.7%) were able to distinguish the possibility of mortality associated with measles infection. This shows parallelism with another study in which only 29.9% of the participants recognized death as a complication of measles . This signifies the importance of raising awareness in regards to the complications and fatalities attributed to this disease.

The vast majority of respondents were able to identify typical non-specific symptoms of measles such as rash and fever. However, very few could correctly identify any further clinical features or the potential complications that can arise from the disease.

They perceived that lung infections and brain infections were not associated with measles, 91.4 and 83.5 respectively. In comparison to another article, in which 10.4 % of their sample acknowledged pneumonia as a complication and 33.3% of them recognized brain infection as a consequence. The results demonstrate that there is clearly an underestimation of measles and that there is limited knowledge of the disease among individuals and raises the question as to whether they are sufficiently informed by their physicians about the disease.

There was a dilemma in regards to the mode of transmission associated with measles. Almost Half of the participants(48.4%) did not pick direct contact/touch as a form of transference. Conversely, cough and sneeze were picked by 65.7% of the participants. Moreover, 77.8 percent of the population was unaware of blood contamination being a course of contamination. Concerned parents often look to friends and family members as a source of information, rendering them susceptible to false information. This reinforces the /important role of health care providers as educators. Understanding a parent's knowledge is likely to facilitate communication and informed decisions making, ultimately leading to fewer cases.

Assessment of the parents’ knowledge in the current study showed a positive inclination to childhood immunization. The majority of them knew that measles is a preventable and controllable disease. Following onto this point, participants then recognized that immunization is the best preventative measure for measles. This coincides with several studies in other parts of the world.

Generally, the administration of vaccines may be associated with common local reactions like pain, swelling, and redness at the injection site . Systemic reactions, including fever, irritability, drowsiness, and rash, may also occur. The majority of the participants (79.7%) are aware of the side effects caused by the vaccination most commonly being a fever. In another survey, nearly 20% of the interviewed participants considered an association between vaccine administration and undesirable effects like allergies and asthma. Parents should be educated about these side effects. Nnenna et al.  found that one of the recruited mothers disagreed to continuing immunization should their own child suffer any adverse reaction.

While a large percentage of the participants (66.8%) correctly acknowledged that measles vaccination has no significant correlation to autism, a handful of respondents (29.4) were unable to reply. This contributes to the fact that a large sector of the population has suboptimal knowledge. This study showed a similar finding.

The results of the present research revealed a significant association between educational level and knowledge and attitudes about Measles. Higher educational level, of no doubt, aids individuals to understand the educational messages. This finding coincide with the results of another study.

In conclusion, the present survey showed that parents had good knowledge and positive attitudes on some aspects related to Measles. However, some gaps were identified. It is important that health groups and primary health care providers seek to address these concerns to minimize the burden of non-immunizers on the community. Better means of public education need to be developed. The findings suggest the need to organize information and prevention campaigns. Well-oriented information and physician involvement are key points that should be considered by policy-makers at the time of vaccination campaigns. Education programmes promoting pediatric immunization, accessibility, and follow-up should be targeted to the entire population.