Submit your papersSubmit Now
For Enquiries: [email protected]
IIARD LogoIIARD

Factors Affecting Childhood Immunization Programmes in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Shagari Usman Saad, Salisu Kabir Muhammad

Abstract

Childhood immunization is a vital public health strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. However, despite ongoing efforts by government and health agencies in Nigeria, immunization coverage remains suboptimal in many rural communities, including Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State. This study examines the factors affecting the utilization of childhood immunization programmes in the area. The study adopts a descriptive research design, focusing on mothers and caregivers of children within the immunization age group. Data are collected using structured questionnaires, interview and analyzed to identify key determinants influencing immunization uptake. Findings reveal that limited knowledge and awareness of immunization benefits, misconceptions about vaccine safety, and negative cultural or religious beliefs significantly affect participation in immunization programmes. Additionally, socioeconomic factors such as low income, illiteracy, and competing domestic responsibilities hinder caregivers’ ability to access immunization services. Health system-related challenges are also identified, including inadequate healthcare facilities, long distances to vaccination centers, irregular vaccine supply, and insufficient healthcare personnel. Poor communication and lack of effective community mobilization further contribute to low immunization coverage. The study concludes that a combination of socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors affects the success of childhood immunization programmes in Jada Local Government Area. It recommends intensified public health education, improved accessibility of immunization services, strengthening of healthcare systems, and active community engagement to enhance immunization uptake and safeguard child health.

Keywords

FactorsChildhoodImmunizationPrograms

References

Abdullahi, M., & Jibril, A. (2020). Factors associated with childhood immunization uptake in Somalia. Journal of Global Health, 10(1), 1-8. Abdulraheem, I. S., Onajole, A. T., Jimoh, A. A. G., & Oladipo, A. R. (2017). Reasons for incomplete vaccination and factors for missed opportunities among rural Nigerian children. Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology, 3(4), 194–203. Abubakar, I. (2018). Impact of Free Maternal and Child Health Services on Health Care Utilization in Jigawa State, Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Adamu, A. A., Jalo, R. I., Habonimana, D., & Wiysonge, C. S. (2022). Zero- or missed-dose children in Nigeria: Contributing factors and interventions. Vaccine, 40(27), 3299–3307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.04.080 Adebayo, A., Bello, O., & Adedoyin, R. (2022). Barriers to immunisation uptake in rural Nigeria: A socio-cultural perspective. African Journal of Public Health, 14(3), 89–99. Adedokun, A. A., & Olatunji, A. (2020). Maternal knowledge and childhood immunization in Nigeria: A systematic review. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 24(1), 1-10. Adekanmbi, V. T., Uthman, O. A., Mudasiru, O. M., & Akinyemi, J. O. (2017). Socio-economic inequalities in access to maternal and child healthcare in Nigeria: Changes over time and decomposition analysis. Health Policy and Planning, 32(8), 1111–1118. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx049 Adepoju, A., Ibrahim, M. A., & Yusuf, B. L. (2022). Barriers to childhood immunisation in Nigeria: A case study of Northern states. African Journal of Public Health, 14(2), 78-95 Adepoju, A., Ibrahim, M. A., & Yusuf, B. L. (2022). Strategies for improving immunisation uptake in Nigeria: A case study of Northern states. African Journal of Public Health, 14(2), 78-95. Adeyemi, T., & Bello, M. (2020). Maternal knowledge and attitudes towards childhood immunization in Northern Nigeria. Journal of Public Health Research, 9(3), 12-20. Adeyinka, D. A., Oladimeji, O., Olatunji, I. O., & Bello, F. A. (2020). Barriers to childhood immunisation in Nigeria: A systematic review of literature. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 24(3), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ajrh2020xxxx Adhikary, A., Rahman, M. M., & Rahman, M. M. (2013). Factors affecting childhood immunization: A study in Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 31(2), 220-229. Aisha, A., & Abubakar, I. (2021). Maternal employment and childhood immunization uptake in Hadejia, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Health Sciences, 21(1), 45-52. Alhassan, N. H., Hamza, A. M., Bala, U., & Kaugama, B. M. (2016). Determinants of immunization coverage in children 12-23 months in Miga Local Government Area, Jigawa State Nigeria. South American Journal of Public Health, Special Edition May 2016, 1–7. Aliyu, U., Mohammed, A., & Ibrahim, T. (2021). Accessibility and equity in immunisation delivery in northern Nigeria. African Health Sciences, 21(2), 356–367. Bashir, A., & Mohammed, A. (2022). Maternal attitudes towards healthcare and immunization decisions in Hadejia. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 9(3), 1200-1206. Behbehani, A. M. (1983). The smallpox story: Life and death of an old disease. Microbiological Reviews, 47(4), 455–509. Bélongia, E. A., & Simpson, M. D. (2016). The effectiveness of influenza vaccination in older individuals. Vaccine, 34(7), 854–860. CDC. (2023). How mRNA vaccines work. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). The public health system and the 10 essential public health services. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov Chidiebere, Bloom, D. E., Fan, V. Y., & Sevilla, J. P. (2018). The economic argument for vaccination: Raising rates would be a good investment. Finance & Development, 55(1), 15–18. Closser, S., Jooma, R., & Riaz, A. (2021). Security threats to polio eradication efforts in Pamethods approakistan. Global Health: Science and Practice, 9(4), 701–713. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed ches (4th ed.). Sage Publications. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications. Cohen, J. (2023). The race for a universal flu vaccine. Science, 380(6649), 25-30. Dolgin, E. (2021). The tangled history of mRNA vaccines. Nature, 597(7876), 318-324. Dubé, E., Gagnon, D., MacDonald, N. E., & the SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy. (2013). Strategies to reduce vaccine hesitancy: A systematic review. Vaccine, 33(34), 4180–4190. European Medicines Agency . (2022). COVID-19 vaccines and their impact on hospitalisation. Retrieved from https://www.ema.europa.eu. Eze, P., Lawani, L. O., Acharya, Y., & Stranges, S. (2018). Parents' preferences for interventions to improve childhood immunisation uptake in Northern Nigeria. Vaccine, 36(23), 3316– 3322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.04.083 Eze, P., Lawani, L. O., Acharya, Y., & Stranges, S. (2023). Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for childhood immunisation uptake in Nigeria: Perspectives from stakeholders. PLOS ONE, 18(1) Eze, P., Lawani, L. O., Acharya, Y., & Stranges, S. (2023). Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for childhood immunisation uptake in Nigeria: Perspectives from stakeholders. PLOS ONE, 18(1) Fadeyi, A., & Ojo, O. (2021). The influence of maternal education on childhood immunization in Nigeria. Journal of Public Health in Africa, 12(1), 1-8. Fati, A., & Ibrahim, M. (2021). The role of social networks in childhood immunization decisions among mothers in Hadejia. Journal of Community Health, 46(4), 678-685. Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria. (2020). National routine immunisation strategic plan 2021– 2025. Abuja, Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Health. Federal Ministry of Health. (2021). National health sector performance report. Abuja: FMoH. Fine, P., Eames, K., & Heymann, D. L. (2011). “Herd immunity”: A rough guide. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 52(7), 911–916. Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. (2013). Nigeria introduces pentavalent vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. (2020). Strengthening immunisation programmes in Africa. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. (2022). Nigeria’s fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. (2022). Nigeria’s fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org Gidado, S., et al. (2014). Assessment monitoring of an expanded program on immunisation's activities in northern Nigeria states. Gidado, S., Nguku, P., Biya, O., Waziri, N., Mohammed, A., Nsubuga, P., & Vertefeuille, J. (2014). Assessment monitoring of an expanded program on immunisation's activities in northern Nigeria states. Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination, 5(6), 247. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7560.1000247 Global Polio Eradication Initiative . (2021). Nigeria’s journey to polio eradication. Retrieved from https://www.polioeradication.org UNICEF. (2022). State of the World’s Children: Immunisation for Every Child. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org UNICEF. (2022). State of the world’s children: Immunisation for every child. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org United Nations Children's Fund. (2022). Maternal and child health in Nigeria. Retrieved from www.unicef.org United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund . (2022). Immunisation coverage in Nigeria: Current trends and future prospects. Abuja: UNICEF. Usman, M., & Ibrahim, A. (2020). Community awareness and immunization rates in Hadejia. Journal of Community Health, 45(2), 345-352. WHO. (2017). Community engagement: A health promotion guide for universal health coverage in the hands of the people. World Health Organization. WHO & UNICEF. (2020). Progress and challenges with achieving universal immunization coverage. World Health Organization. WHO. (2023). Global immunisation challenges. Retrieved from https://www.who.int.:. WHO. (2023). Immunisation and vaccines. Retrieved from https://www.who.int

More Articles from INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

Building National Analytics Capacity: Advances and Future Pathways

Author: Uchechi Mary-Linda Unamma, Ifeanyichukwu Jeffrey Okwesa, Uzoamaka Iwuanyanwu

Root-Cause and Thematic Analysis for Major Incident Management: A Review

Author: Ifeanyichukwu Jeffrey Okwesa, Uchechi Mary-Linda Unamma, Uzoamaka Iwuanyanwu

Data-Quality and Single-Source-Of-Truth Frameworks for Inter- Agency Reporting: A Review

Author: Uchechi Mary-Linda Unamma, Ifeanyichukwu Jeffrey Okwesa, Uzoamaka Iwuanyanwu

Human-In-The-Loop Decision Systems: Advances and Future Directions

Author: Funmilayo Ashore-Onisemo, Uchechi Mary-Linda Unamma, Ifeanyichukwu Jeffrey, Okwesa,

Roles of Oil Subsidy Removal on Transportation Cost and Water Factory in Cross River South, Nigeria

Author: Onwuzurike Peter Tobechi, Owoh Akwa Owoh, Unoh Grace Inyang, Umaru Musa