Awareness, perceptions and intent to comply with the prospective malaria vaccine in parts of South Eastern Nigeria (original) (raw)
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Malaria journal, 2024
Background There are giant steps taken in the introduction of the novel malaria vaccine poised towards reducing mortality and morbidity associated with malaria. Objectives This study aimed to determine the knowledge of malaria vaccine and factors militating against willingness to accept the vaccine among mothers presenting in nine hospitals in Enugu metropolis. Methods This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 491 mothers who presented with their children in nine hospitals in Enugu metropolis, SouthEast Nigeria. A pre-tested and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used in this study. Results A majority of the respondents, 72.1% were aware of malaria vaccine. A majority of the respondents, 83.1% were willing to receive malaria vaccine. Similarly, a majority of the mothers, 92.9%, were willing to vaccinate baby with the malaria vaccine, while 81.1% were willing to vaccinate self and baby with the malaria vaccine. The subjects who belong to the low socioeconomic class were five times less likely to vaccinate self and baby with malaria vaccine when compared with those who were in the high socioeconomic class (AOR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.5). Mothers who had good knowledge of malaria vaccination were 3.3 times more likely to vaccinate self and baby with malaria vaccine when compared with those who had poor knowledge of malaria vaccination (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI 1-6-6.8). Conclusion Although the study documented a high vaccine acceptance among the mothers, there exists a poor knowledge of the malaria vaccine among them.
Annals of African Medical Research, 2021
Malaria constitutes a major public health challenge and Nigeria contributes hugely to the global burden. In recent times, there has been a massive scale up of all interventions for evident impact. One of the novel preventive measures being considered is the RTS,S malaria vaccine. The objective of this study was to assess mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices to malaria and its prevention as well as mothers’ willingness to accept the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine. A cross-sectional study design was used to administer questionnaires to 180 mothers within six public secondary health facilities in Abuja, Nigeria. About 30% (36/180) of respondents were aware of malaria vaccines but only four percent (7/180) had heard of RTS,S. Young maternal age (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.09-5.28; P = 0.03), self-employment (OR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.04-6.28; P = 0.04) and formal employment (OR, 3.74; 95% CI, 1.17-11.99; P = 0.03) were associated with no prior knowledge of malaria vaccine. Ninety-one percent (163/...
Community perceptions of a malaria vaccine in the Kintampo districts of Ghana
Malaria Journal, 2013
Background: Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa despite tools currently available for its control. Making malaria vaccine available for routine use will be a major hallmark, but its acceptance by community members and health professionals within the health system could pose considerable challenge as has been found with the introduction of polio vaccinations in parts of West Africa. Some of these challenges may not be expected since decisions people make are many a time driven by a complex myriad of perceptions. This paper reports knowledge and perceptions of community members in the Kintampo area of Ghana where malaria vaccine trials have been ongoing as part of the drive for the first-ever licensed malaria vaccine in the near future. Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the data collection processes. Women and men whose children were or were not involved in the malaria vaccine trial were invited to participate in focus group discussions (FGDs). Respondents, made up of heads of religious groupings in the study area, health care providers, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants, were also invited to participate in in-depth interviews (IDIs). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in communities where the malaria vaccine trial (Mal 047RTS,S) was carried out. In total, 12 FGDs, 15 IDIs and 466 household head interviews were conducted.
Unlocking the Future: Predicting Malaria Vaccine Uptake and Likely Barriers in Nigeria
Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2023
Malaria vaccination was identified as a major effort to curb the Africa's challenge of death amongst children under 5. As malaria vaccines are yet to be distributed in Nigeria, there is a debate on their acceptability, accessibility, and barriers to receiving them. This study was conducted to assess the uptake of the malaria vaccination, and its determinants among internet users in Nigeria. An online survey was conducted between July and August 2023 using a semi-structured questionnaire. It was set up using kobotoolbox forms and data were collected online. Data collected were analyzed using GNU PSPP. A total of 399 respondents participated in the study, with a mean age of 43.52 years (± 10.90). The majority of the respondents were young adults. The majority of our respondents (72.9%) have heard of the malaria vaccine while the majority said they would take the malaria vaccine if available (85.2%). The major source of information on the malaria vaccine was the internet (55.4%), health workers (51.9%), and media (Radio/Television/Posters/Billboards/Pamphlets) (44.9%). Malaria vaccination uptake had a significant positive association with the level of education and level of monthly income (p < 0.05 respectively). Lack of availability, information, knowledge, awareness, cost of a malaria vaccine, the long distance to get to vaccination centers were the leading barriers to vaccine uptake. This calls for key stakeholders to ensure that malaria vaccination sensitization is championed immediately in Nigeria and discouragement of the spread of conspiracy theories to eliminate the infodemic associated factors will reduce vaccine hesitancy and thereby increase malaria vaccination uptake in Nigeria.
Assessment of parental perception of malaria vaccine in Tanzania
Malaria Journal, 2015
Background: Clinical trials of the RTS,S malaria vaccine have completed Phase III and the vaccine is on track for registration. Before making decisions about implementation, it is essential to prepare the ground for introducing the vaccine by assessing awareness and willingness to use malaria vaccines and to provide policy makers with evidencebased information on the best strategies to engage communities to manage the introduction of malaria vaccine in Tanzania. Methods: In November 2011, as part of a large cross-sectional study of all 23 regions of Tanzania (mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar) was conducted during Tanzanian Integrated Measles Campaign (IMC) survey. In this study, the variables of interests were awareness and willingness to use a malaria vaccine. The main outcome measure was willingness to use a malaria vaccine. Logistic regression was used to examine the influence of predictive factors. Results: A representative sample of 5502 (out of 6210) women, aged 18 years or older and with children under 11 months old, was selected to participate, using random sampling probability. Awareness of the forthcoming malaria vaccine, 11.8 % of participants in mainland Tanzania responded affirmatively, compared to 3.4 % in Zanzibar (p value <0.0001). 94.5 % of all respondents were willing to vaccinate their children against malaria, with a slight difference between mainland Tanzania (94.3 %) and Zanzibar (96.8 %) (p value = 0.0167). Conclusions: Although mothers had low awareness and high willingness to use malaria vaccine, still availability of malaria vaccine RTS,S will compliment other existing malaria interventions and it will be implemented through the Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB) programme (formerly EPI). The information generated from this study can aid policy makers in planning and setting priorities for introducing and implementing the malaria vaccine.
Research Square (Research Square), 2022
Background of study: The study aimed to assess perception and awareness of health policy actors on malaria vaccine policy implementation in Nigeria. A descriptive study was conducted to assess opinions and perception of policy actors on implementation of a vaccine program against malaria in Nigeria. Descriptive statistics were carried out to study the characteristics of the population and the univariate analysis of the responses to the questions raised to the participants. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the association between demographic characteristics and the responses. Results: The study revealed that the malaria vaccine awareness was poor with only 48.9% of the policy actors who have previous knowledge of malaria vaccine. Majority of participants (67.8%) declared that they are aware of the importance of vaccine policy in the efforts on tackling the diseases transmission. The more the year of work experience of the participants increases, the odds of being more likely to be aware of the malaria vaccine increases [OR 2.491 (1.183-5.250), p-value < 0.05]. Conclusion: It is recommended that policy makers develop methods of educating populations and increase the awareness on the acceptability of the vaccine and ensure that an affordable malaria vaccine program is implemented in the population.
Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2022
Malaria is a severe public health issue in Nigeria, with higher morbidity and mortality rates than any other country. An estimated 100 million malaria cases and over 300,000 deaths are recorded yearly in Nigeria. Vaccination is an effective strategy in combating and eliminating infectious diseases such as malaria, thus, the deployment of a prospective malaria vaccine in Nigeria offers hope to the country's health sector. However, vaccination programmes face challenges, particularly in communities that are difficult to reach geographically or culturally, and these obstacles can only be overcome through continued international, national, and individual commitment. There is a need for expanded and continuous public health information, education, and communication particularly on contemporary health issues such as malaria and vaccination hesitancy. This will enable easier implementation and compliance to strategies for the sustainable control and eventual elimination of malaria. This article highlights some of the lessons learned from previous vaccination programs in Nigeria and how the insight gotten can be pivotal in ensuring the success of a prospective malaria vaccination programme in Nigeria.
PLoS ONE, 2014
Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in Ghana. As part of the effort to inform local and national decision-making in preparation for possible malaria vaccine introduction, this qualitative study explored community-level factors that could affect vaccine acceptance in Ghana and provides recommendations for a health communications strategy. The study was conducted in two purposively selected districts: the Ashanti and Upper East Regions. A total of 25 focus group discussions, 107 in-depth interviews, and 21 semi-structured observations at Child Welfare Clinics were conducted. Malaria was acknowledged to be one of the most common health problems among children. While mosquitoes were linked to the cause and bed nets were considered to be the main preventive method, participants acknowledged that no single measure prevented malaria. The communities highly valued vaccines and cited vaccination as the main motivation for taking children to Child Welfare Clinics. Nevertheless, knowledge of specific vaccines and what they do was limited. While communities accepted the idea of minor vaccine side effects, other side effects perceived to be more serious could deter families from taking children for vaccination, especially during vaccination campaigns. Attendance at Child Welfare Clinics after age nine months was limited. Observations at clinics revealed that while two different opportunities for counseling were offered, little attention was given to addressing mothers' specific concerns and to answering questions related to child immunization. Positive community attitudes toward vaccines and the understanding that malaria prevention requires a comprehensive approach would support the introduction of a malaria vaccine. These attitudes are bolstered by a well-established child welfare program and the availability in Ghana of active, flexible structures for conveying health information to communities. At the same time, it would be important to improve the quality of Child Welfare Clinic services, particularly in relation to communication around vaccination.
Caregivers’ perception and acceptance of malaria vaccine for Children
PLOS ONE
Background Malaria is a disease of public health concern and in endemic areas, pregnant women and children under-five years are vulnerable to the disease. The introduction of the pilot program of a malaria vaccine for children under-five years in Ghana is an intervention to further reduce the burden of the disease. However, the availability of the vaccine does not necessarily mean it will be accepted by the public. This is why the perceptions and acceptance of the vaccine among mothers of these children are worth exploring. Method A descriptive qualitative study, with the aid of a semi-structured interview guide, was utilized in collecting data from ten (10) purposively sampled mothers whose children were taking the malaria vaccine in a municipality in Ghana. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The audiotaped interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductively analyzed into themes describing their perceptions and acceptance. Results Participants were aged b...