DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
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Item DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND SOCIAL MOBILIZATION STRATEGIES ON UPTAKE OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION IN IJEBU-NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT OGUNSTATE, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-08) LAWAL, Abiodun SebionigaThe use of social mobilization (SM) as a process of engaging and motivating parents for utilization of immunization services has attracted much global attention. The time spent on dissemination of information using mass media showed that not much has been done to reinforce public perception of immunization as a social norm, hence, the widely reported persistent and low immunization coverage. The associating factors that can complement the process and also influence preference for particular approaches by parents need to be determined in order to reinforce such methods. The objectives of the study were to: (i) identify demographic factors for uptake of childhood immunization; (ii) assess the knowledge of respondents on SM strategies towards childhood immunization; (iii) determine the attitude of respondents towards social mobilization strategies (iv) identify SM strategies adopted by respondents; and (v) identify factors influencing SM in Ijebu-North Ogun State, Nigeria. Cross Sectional descriptive design was adopted. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a sample size of 600 respondents with children less than two years of age. Data were collected with a researcher-designed questionnaire on a 4point Likert scale and was validated by the supervisor and two other experts. A reliability coefficient 0.82 was obtained through a test-retest method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Statistical package for Social Sciences was the tool adopted for analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the demographic data while inferential statistics of Chi-square was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. demographic factors of respondents were significantly associated with SM and uptake of immunization services(p<0.05). Respondents with higher income and residents of close proximity had increased odds of obtaining information and uptake of immunization services than those in farther locations; ii. knowledge of respondents on SM and immunization services was not significant (p< 0.148). Only (58%) of respondents with good knowledge had children with fully immunized status, while 69% of others with good knowledge had children with partially immunized status; iii. good knowledge of SM strategies in the LGA influenced positive attitude towards immunization uptake among 61% of the recipients; iv. health care workers are the most preferred source of knowledge and information. Eighty percent of respondents reported positive interaction during immunization uptake; and v. respondents who interacted through radio, town announcers and house to house contacts have increased probability of being motivated to adopt immunization services five times more than respondents who did not benefit from the other media contacts. The study concluded that SM greatly influenced uptake of immunization while good knowledge from health care workers was positively associated with attitude of parents who are using immunization services in Ijebu North LGA. It is therefore recommended that SM should be conducted in close proximity to residential areas and workplaces using many media for contact with potential users of immunization services.