| Summary: | <b>Research question:</b> Do caretakers of children under five years have sufficient knowledge regarding routine immunization (RI)? <b> Objective:</b> To assess the knowledge about RI among caretakers of young children. <b> Settings:</b> Pulse polio immunization centres in East Delhi. <b> Study design:</b> Cross-sectional study. <b> Participants:</b> Six hundred and eighty-two caretakers accompanying children under 5 years to pulse polio booths in November 2006. <b> Study tool:</b> Pre-tested semi-open-ended questionnaire. <b> Statistical analysis:</b> Proportions, Chi-square test. <b> Results:</b> The proportions of respondents who had awareness about different aspects of RI, such as weekday of RI (37.0%), age group for RI (49.1%), number of visits required in the first year of life (27.0%), were all low. When asked to name the four diseases covered under the RI program in Delhi, only 268 (39.3%) could name at least three. The education level of respondents was strongly associated with their knowledge about RI. <b> Conclusion:</b> The need of the hour is to make RI a ′felt need′ of the community. Making caretakers more aware about RI is a vital step in achieving this goal.
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