How Poliomyelitis Eradication Interventions Have Affected the Knowledge, Attitudes and Uptake of Polio Vaccines among Nigerian Women

Background: Immunization has been shown to be an effective technique for managing and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases, averting about two million deaths per year. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and uptake of polio vaccines among Nigerian women.

Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive design that involved applying an interviewer-administered questionnaire.

Place of study: The impact assessment was conducted in the 11 National Stop Transmission of Poliomyelitis Program (NSTOP) intervention states in two geopolitical zones of Northern Nigeria, Northwest and Northeast.

Methodology: A total of 2592 caregivers/mothers were interviewed from 262 households in the states. Data collections were done at households in all the intervention states in the two geopolitical zones. The data were analyzed with IBM-SPSS version 25.0.

Results: Mothers/caregivers showed high awareness of poliomyelitis vaccines (>99%). A significantly higher proportion (58.4%) of mothers from intervention states said the recent routine immunization section was less than a month ago than 45.7% of women in non-intervention states (P<.05). Mothers/caregivers' attitude to immunization was excellent as 98.8% said all children be fully vaccinated at 12 months. A higher proportion (96.6%) of women from the intervention regions said the time spent on vaccination is worth it than 93.8% of those without the interventions (P=.05). More mothers (95.5%) from the intervention areas have immunized their children within the last years than 91.7% of non-intervention mothers (P<.05). A significantly higher proportion of mothers from intervention regions (96.1%) said their children were immunized as scheduled than 94.4% of those from non-intervention areas (P<.05).

Conclusion: Given its success thus far, it is recommended that the NSTOP program be sustained and, if possible, expanded geographically to cover the entire country when resources permit. This step will help keep polio permanently out of the country and reduce mortality among under-five children.