Shehzada Samee Ullah2025-09-192025-09-192022https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/6587Polio disease poses a serious challenge to health authorities in Pakistan, which is one of two remaining countries in the world where polio remains endemic. The problem is especially severe in Pashto speaking regions of KPK and Baluchistan, a region which has suffered from war and conflict for many decades. Previous studies have found these regions as fertile ground for proliferation of different conspiracy theories, misconceptions and rumours regarding polio vaccination program. Insights from theory of reasoned action (TRA) reveal that beliefs can have a significant impact in determining attitudes and human behaviour. It was suspected that belief in conspiracy theories might be a reason behind vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal among the local population. The current study was conducted to understand the impact of these conspiracy theories, misconceptions, and myths, on the attitude of public towards vaccination. A random sample (n=400) was chosen for this study from polio high-risk areas of KPK and Baluchistan using cluster sampling method. A survey instrument was used to gather data which was analysed using regression analysis in SPSS software. The results show that all three independent variables, i.e., perception of religious conspiracies, perception of vaccination as a tool for spying, and misconceptions about side-effects of vaccines, have significant positive association with the dependent variable, negative attitude towards polio vaccination.enThesis