Maternal Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Routine Immunization Among Mothers Patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Healthcare Centre, Edo State

Abstract

The study investigated maternal knowledge and attitudes toward routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbihoko Primary Healthcare Centre. It also assessed the influence of age, educational level and religion on the respondents. In view of these, eight research questions were raised and six hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The theoretical framework of the study was hinged on the health belief model.The study utilized the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was four and fifty-five (455) mothers of Ugbihoko quarters and its environs whose children are less than fifteen (15) months and have had their infants immunized at the Ugbihioko Primary Healthcare Centre. The sample size was two hundred and two (202) mothers selected from Ugbihioko Primary Healthcare Centre. The systematic sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents in the study. The instrument for the study was a self-structured questionnaire titled maternal knowledge and attitude towards routine immunization. The instrument was content and face validated by the researcher’s supervisor and two other experts from the Department of Health, Safety and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City. To establish the reliability of the instrument on knowledge, the split half reliability was used and Kuda-Richardson 20 was used to analyze the collected data, while the internal consistency on the items on attitude was measured using Cronbach alpha statistics. The instrument was administered to 20 respondents who do not form part of the sample. Items measuring knowledge reported alpha values of 0.75 and 0.78 for attitude.    Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and stated hypotheses were tested using chi square at 0.05 level of significance.It was discovered in the study that majority of the respondents have moderate knowledge on routine immunization, majority of the respondents in the study have positive attitudes toward routine immunization, knowledge on routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center is significantly influenced by age, attitude toward routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center are significantly influenced by age, knowledge of routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center is significantly influenced by education, attitude of routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center is not significantly influenced by education, knowledge of routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center is significantly influenced by religion, attitudes of routine immunization among mothers patronizing Ugbiyokho Primary Health Care Center is significantly influenced by religion. It is recommended that mothers should be motivated to have their children immunized by doubling efforts at enlightening them and by reiterating the benefits of child immunization to pregnant women during ante-natal clinics.

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-16-07

Publication date:June 30^th 2023