Mothers' knowledge about the vaccines their children receive: A study in a Basic Health Unit in the city of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Introduction: vaccines are an important instrument for good health conditions aimed at controlling infectious diseases and reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. Among the various mechanisms to support the practice of vaccination, the knowledge of mothers and caregivers is essential. This article aims to verify the knowledge of mothers about the vaccines that their children receive.
Material and Methods: cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study with mothers of children under five years of age, attended at the childcare and general pediatrics outpatient clinic of a Basic Health Unit (UBS) located in the city of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in the period from 01/07/2019 to 12/20/2019. A questionnaire consisting of questions related to social aspects (age, education level, number of children) and vaccines (for which vaccines are used, whether or not you have a vaccine portfolio and illnesses / symptoms of preventable illnesses) was used.
Results: 278 mothers participated, with an average age of 30.5 years. The majority (89.9%) said that vaccines are used to protect children against infectious diseases and 5.0% think that vaccines fight disease. 230 mothers (82.7%) considered vaccines safe, while 46 (16.5%) thought the child was at risk. Regarding the knowledge of diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, 264 (94.9%) responded affirmatively and cited more frequently measles (56%), polio (48.4%), hepatitis (47.7%) and meningitis (40.1%).
Conclusions: most of the study participants reported knowing the purpose of vaccines, their safety in clinical practice and the main diseases that can be prevented. This knowledge is essential for children to receive all the vaccines provided for in the immunization programs, contributing to a wide vaccination coverage.