Ahdui-Aziz, llaruna, Ismail F. 0 , & Baba, D
23
K11ou·/edge of /'olio Virus fl/1/nllg Nursi11g M ol hers ...
Knowledge of Polio Virus among Nursing mothers in Anguwan
Maigamo and Sabon Gida Villages of
Giwa LGA of Kaduna State
Abdul-Aziz, ll aruna. Ismail F. 0. & Baba, I)
"NAERLS/ABU. P.M.B 1067, Zaria Kaduna State N igeria.
( +2.3-+ 7035596006)
Abstract
This paper asse5;sed the knotl'!edge. all'areness and lew!/ of COIIII/Iunity
panicipatio11 i11 polio eradication campaig11 in Gilm LGA, Kaduna State,
Nigeria. A focus group inten•ie11· wus conducted in tii'O villages(AnguH·an
Maigamo a11d Saban Gida Villages) in Gi11·a LGA Kaduna State, .for primary
data gathering. The result revealed that the COinlllunities \t'e re yet to be .fit!ly
being educated about poliomyelitis even as they live
close to Alunadu
Bello University Teaching /Jospital tt ·hich might be as a result of lack of good
COIIIInLmicatio n strategy e111ployed in the cmnpaign. Furthermore. the
participants attested that radio was Th e main source of Their inforlllaTion
abouT poliomyeliTis, IT was con cludes that any COIIIIIIuniTy-based programme
requires direct involvement and participaTio11 o.fthe local C0/1/IIIllflities that
hits the programme. The study recommends adopting community-based
approach To improved health education and {1\t"Ctreness. Also the governm ent
should recruits more health workers in o1her to reach auf to 111anv
C01111111111ities with polio campaign.
Keywords: Public Relati on. Pol io Eradication, Pa11icipatory Approach
Introduction
Poli omyeliti s is a highly in fectious vira l disease th at can lead to
ex tensi ve paralysis or death. There i s no known cure of the di sease between
70% and 90% of in fec ted persons are children under the age of 3 years. Due to
the ongoing polio eradication efforts. the number of poliomyelitis cases has
decreased worldwide from an estimated 350 000 in 1988 to 20 000 in 1999
(Ayl w~lrd ct al., 2000).
24
Zaria }oumnl of Commuuication
Vol. 3 No. 2 September. 201 5 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
Communi cati on is a critical co mponent in assuring that children are
full y i mmuni zed and that si multaneous i mmunity is attained and mai ntained
across large geographic areas for di sease eradication and control. If a good
communi cati on strategy reaches th e affected communiti es/population, ie
effecti ve communi cation--through advocacy, social mobili zation , and
interpersonal communi cation. it wi ll assist in creating awareness, and
di scourage resistant to the vaccination.
It is also imperative to note that comm unity patticipation is an
effecti ve means of achieving cost-effecti ve and sustainable health campaigns,
as opposed to ' top down ' approach systems of health care awareness
campaign strategy. Community patti cipation in health proj ects, especi all y in
developi ng countri es was strongly advocated at the Alma Ata Conference in
1978, i n wh ich 138 countries adopted th e declaration that ' people have the
right and the duty to participate individuall y and coll ecti vely in the plann ing
and
implementation
of
their
health
care'
[World
Health
Organi zation (WHO)/UNI CEF, 1978; A sthana and Oost vogels, 1996).
Community members participate in health projects with neighborh ood
organizations, self-help groups and other vo lun tary organ izations (WHO ,
1992). Effecti ve comm unity participation in heal th care campaigns does not
onl y in volve community memberg working side-by-side with hea lth care
profess ionals and doin g whaJ., they are told to do; it in vol ves professional s and
their cli ents sharing both power and responsibility.
Health Care Services in Nigeria
Health care provi sion in N igeria i ~ a ~;on cu:Te n ~ responsibil;ty of the
three ti ers of govemment in the country. The Federal Govemment's role is
mostly limi ted to coordinatin g th e affairs of the Uni versity Teaching
Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres (ten iary health care), while the State
Govemment manages the vari ous general hospitals (secondary health care),
and the Loca l Government focuses on dispensaries (primary health care),
which are regulated by the Federal Govemment through National Primary
Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA) .
Health care in N igeria is inf luenced by different local and regional
factors th at impact the quality or quantity present in one location. Due to the
aforementioned. the health care system in N igeria has show n spatial variati on
in terms of avail abi iity and quality of facil iti es in relation to need. H owever,
thi s _.is largely as a res ult of the level of _state and local
govemment in vol veJTtent and in vestment 111 health care programs
Abdul-Aziz, ll:truna, Ismail F. 0 , & Baba, I>
Knou•ledge of Polio Vims mnong N11rsillg Mol hers ...
25
and education. It i s assumed by some schol ars that the health care service is
in versel y related to the need of patients.
Update on Polio Erad ication in Nigeria
The rep011 by Nati o1;al Primary H ea lth Care Development Agency
NPH CDA,(2013) report states that the number of confirmed Polio Virus (PV)
cases in Nigeri a declined substanti all y between 20 12 and 2013 , from 122 to
50 cases between Jan uary and D ecem ber represen ting a marked red ucti on of
58% compared to same period in 2012. No PV type 3 has been reported in
2013 with the last case in November 2012. ln 20 13, there was geographical
rest1i ctio n and shift of poliovirus transmission to the northeastern states, with
th e majority of cases (84%) occurring in 4 states: Borno (16 cases), Kano ( 14
cases), Yobe (7 cases), and I 0 Bauchi (6 cases). The number of infected
LGAs repo11ing cases in 2013 compared to 2012 dropped from 58 to 29 (50%
reduction). Of the 29 infected LGAs. on l y 7 LGA s had multiple cases with 27
cases accounting for 54% of the cases. As of December 3 1, 20 13, 3 PV type 2
cases were reported in 20 13 in Borno State compared to 8 cases in 3 States in
2012 representing a 63 % reduction· in cases. Envi ronmental surveill ance
detected 3 PV type 1: Kano (1) and Sokoto (2); and 13 PV2: Sokoto 9, Kano 2
and Borno 2. Like in previous years, the majority of PV cases in 20 13 (almost
half) were among 12 -35 momh s of age. H owever, there was a sli ght shift in
the other age groups with 12% of infected ch ildren below 12 month s
compared to 6% in 2013. A lso, 12% of the infected children were above 59
months of age compared to 9% in 2012. In term s of popu lation immunity
among PV cases, there was a decl ine in zero dose cases from 23% in 20 12 to
10% in 20 13. Si mi larl y, the number of children with at least 3 Oral PV doses
increased from 52(?o to 66%. In the non-poli o AFP cases, population i mmuni ty
was better with 1% bei ng zero doses and 83% having received at least 3 Oral
PV doses.
According to UN LCEFs, (2014). report Northern Nigeria has one of the
lowest rates of immunization coverage in the world. Jn many parts of the
north, barely 10% of children receive all of their routi ne vacci nes. A lthough
1
igeri a has made significant progress towards the target of stopping polio,
intensive household and com munity engagement approaches must be
sustained to ensure demand for immuni zation across the northern high ri sk
states.
Recent UNICEF reports proof that NigcJ:i.a's Poli o i mmunization made
remarkable progress throughout the reporti ng period. For th e fi rst time in its
26
Zaria Journal of Cummuuication
Vol. 3 No. 2 September. 2015 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
hi story, Nigeria has not reponed any new PV T ype 1 case for seven
continuous months as of 17 February 2015. The last confirmed case was
recorded on 24th July 2014. The geographical spread of the virus has been
reduced by 83% w ith fi ve in fected Local Government Areas (LG As) in 2014
compared to 30 LGAs in 20 13. The two tian smission zones are-- Kano (5
cases) and Borno/Yobe transmission zone ( L case). The geographic restri ction
has been accompanied by red uction in the number of genetic clu sters of PV 1
by 87%, from eight in 2012 to one in 20 14. A lso, there has been no case of PV
Type 3 for the past 26 months. It was given that there have been no cases of
pol io on the African co ntinent since 1 L August 2014.fn 2015 UNI CEF
declared Nigeria a polio-free in Africa. T herefore, this paper assessed the
knowledge o f polio virus among nursing moth ers in two selected vill ages in
Giwa LGA, of K aduna State, Nige1i a. The specific objectives are:
• To assess the communities knowledge of the polio virus.
• To determine the level of awareness of the pol io virus.
• To establish the level of commun ity participation in the poli o
eradication campaigns.
Theoretical Framework
Th is study was anchored in the pa1t ici patory model propounded by
Paulo Freire (1983), the model stressed the imp011ance of cultural identity of
local commun iti es and democrati zation and pa1ticipation at all levels be it
internati onal, national, local and indi vidual. Freire (1983) as cited in Servaes
(2004), refers to thi s as the ri ght of all peop le to individually and collecti ve ly
speak their word. Participati on is necessary in order to share information,
knowledge, trust, co mmitment and a right attitude in development planning
and implementation. Thi s calls for new attitudes for avoiding stereotyped
thinking and to promote cu ltural di versity and plurali sm. Thi s model stresses
rec iprocal co llaboration throughout all le ve ls of participation. Development
efforts mu st be based on faith in the peop le's capacity to contri bute and
pa1ticipate acti vel y in the task of transforming society. The co mmon people
are inielligent and can be active agents in change managemem.
Methodology
Jn order to generate quali tative data, a focus group interview was
adopted for primary data gathering. T he focused group discussion was held
wi th nursing mothers in two sam pled residents from Ah madu Bello University
Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) neighbouring vi ll ages i.e. A nguwan Maigamo
Ahdul-Aziz,
ll~•runa ,
27
Ismail F. 0 , & Baha, D
Kno1vledge of /)olio Virus anwng Nn rsing MOl hers ...
and Saban Gida Vi ll ages i n Giwa L ocal Government Area of Kaduna State.
The mothers age groups were between 17- 20 and 26- 30 years of age. The
communities are located within l-3kilometres away from A hmadu Bello
Universi ty Teaching H ospital. The discussion were facilitated by the
researcher in each comm unity and coo.·dinated by the vill age heads (i.e. Mai
Anguwa in Hausa). Parti cipants ran ging between 10 - 14 persons in a location
were randoml y selected by the . village heads (Mai Anguwa), prior to the
discussion sessions a checklist was used in each of the locations for the
discussions.
Presentation of Focus Group Interview Result
The informati on obtained was presented in discussion manner to aiel
understanding of the clillercnt communities.
Knowledge,
Eradication
a.
Awareness
and
Community
Participation
in
Polio
Knowledge of Polio
T he two commun i ties (Anguwan Maigamo and Saban Gicla Villages)
considered poliomyel iti s as a di sease whi ch is inflicted by a spiri t (S han' inna
in Hausa lan guage) mostly contacted by children (babies) when their mother
go along with them to fetch water from the wel l during sunset (even in g).
Saban Gida communi ty believed that polio cannot be prevented because is a
sickness associated w ith spi rits which on ly prayers can cure/prevent it. While
A nguwan Maigamo community has pa1tial believed in the existent of polio
di sease, they were of the opinion that chi ldren should be 1mmunized at the
earl y stage for preventi ve measures. They also believed that children that were
not i mmunized may be exposed to pol io disease.
From the above di scussion, it shows th at the communities are yet to
have a full knowledge about poliomye liti s even as they li ve close to the
T eaching H ospital. Thi s mi ght be as a result of lack of good communi cation
strategy employed in the campa ign. It was di scovered that the vill ages were
constraint by lack of good roads, portable drinking water and threat of di vorce
which is a cha l ~enge to polio campai gn. Thi s findings concurs with Ndiaye,
Qui rk, Sanda and Niando (2003) result that in developing nations, community
members' lack of know ledge about the possible li nk between a case of
paraiysis and a comm uni cable di sease; lack of access to heai th care, includin g
th ~,::- low number of health care workers; cu ltural beliefs tb.at favour seeki ng a
local healer before consultin g a physician arc part of constraints to polio
28
Zaria ]ouma/ of Communication
Vol. 3 No. 2 September. 20 15 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
eradication in Africa. A lso, there are logistical di fficulti es of travel and
communi cation , w hi ch are common challenges in developing countries.
b.
Awareness of Polio
To attest to the above findin gs the participan ts confirmed radio as the
main source of their info1mation about poli omyelitis. Si mi larly, they
sometimes also heard from traditional/reli gious leaders, and the findin gs
further suggested traditional/religious leaders as the most important source of
information of poliomyeliti s. During the di sc ussion the participant gave
reason that so me parents kept their chi ld from being immuni zed as a result of
ignorance of the di sease, they hate polio immuni zation programme, even
though some panicipants beli eved that if the children are immunized they wil l
be healthy. It was found that 68% of the community believed the vaccination
to be associated with family planning hence they ascribed the persistence on
the campaign over all media. Thi s shows that the parti cipant li stens more to
radio but it was still suggested that to the use of tradi tional and reli gious
leaders can be an effecti ve med ium for poli o eradication campaigns. This
means that interpersonal communication channels may be more effective i n
te1ms of creating awareness and mobi lizati on during polio immunization in
the communities. T hi s rerum mi ght reduce the level of resistance by some
parents during vaccines. T hi s also conformed to Suleiman 's (2010) finding
which indi cates hi gher performance of Interpersonal communication than
Mass Media sources in influencin g polio campaign acceptance and resistance
in the local communities.
c.
Community Participation in Polio Eradication
In the case of participation, the participants in the discussion revealed
some constraints such as the dearth of health workers in their communities for
awareness campaigns. T hey suggested the adoption of vill age meetings for
in formation sharin g on poli o. Furthermore, they in dicated that heal th workers
should be the most prefe1Ted source of information on polio eradication
campaign. Likewise, they recommended the use of town crier as a strategy
for mobi li zation during poli o vaccin ations exerci se. This also concurs w ith
Freire (19 83) cited in A naeto, Onabanjo and Osifeso (2008) w hich suggests a
reciprocal collaboration of al l the stakeholders in vol ved to contribute and
pa11icipate in the task of transforming society th rough informati on shari ng,
knowledge, trust, commitment and a ri ght at~~tude in development planning
and implementation.
AlJdui-Aziz, llaruna, Is mail F. 0, & BalJa, D
Knowledge of Polio \fims among Nursing Mothers ...
29
Conclusions
In conclusion, It IS believed that any programme that is meant to
change commu nity perception requ ires the direct involvement and
parti cipation of all stakeholders in the programme. It is believed that fai lure to
caiTY alon g all stakeholders is a pre-requi site to failure of the programme.
While polio eradication campaign has been on for several years yet the war
was yet to be conquered until year 2015 after UNICEF declaring Nigeria
poli ofree nation. T here are un spoken reasons that might likel y be the factors
associated w i th its fai lure one is vividly seen from the study that most
communities are not involved in the planning or implementing the campaign
and not all communities are reached w ith the polio campaign wh ich may be
due to inadequate health workers in Nigeri a. Findings from the study further
revealed insignificant level of health workers enrolment, and also insignif icant
level of community in vol vement, which may consequently lead to
reoccuiTence of the di sease in mire future if measures are not taken. Therefore
th is study recommends that;
Adopti ng communi ty-based approach to improved health education and
awareness is important.
Also. government should recruit more health workers in other to reach out to
many communities with polio campaign.
Fu rther study to cove •· m01·e comm unities and primary h ealth care hospital is
also recommended.
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