1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Mass media can be defined as “messages communicated through a mass medium to a large number of people” (Bitner, 1980:10). Nwosu, (1992) says that mass media are channels through which communication is addressed to a large heterogeneous and a cross section of the population. Mass communication institutions are all means of giving information to a large number of people.
Facuconner, (1975) conceives mass media as a computer of stable, repetitive and pattered action that is in part, a manifestation of the psychological orientation of the actions. It is a powerful and respected phenomenon that lubricates the engine of self-rule, human dignity and emancipated polity. Mass media are all those technology that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically and comprises of television, radio and film. Alternatively, print media uses physical object as a means of sending information through Newspapers, Magazine and Billboard.
According to Akinfeleye (1989), attitude formation and attitude modification precede behavioural change for the achievement of the desired goals. This is because communication must be presented and articulated before there can be any useful mobilization in communicating family planning to rural communities in Nigeria, Numpomuwusu (1982) posited that a communicator must bear in mind three related concepts which are the message or content of information that is to be given, the audience or community that one is communicating with, and an environment that is conducive for communication.
However, Moemeka, (1990) is of the opinion that because of Nigeria’s large size, it is impossible to mobilize the entire population through centralized directive. He suggested the decentralization of communication if any meaningful change is to take place at the local level. He stressed the need for village level communicator, recruited from among the people of the rural areas, for more effective, communication with the rural, dwellers. This argument is also borne out of the contemplation that people are more regressive if they feel involved in decisions and have a stake in the new project.
Immunization activities have been implemented in Africa for a relatively long time, although many countries had only low-key and often unstructured programmes initially, however in order to stimulate reorganization and strengthening of immunization throughout the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974.
According to UNICEF (2000) Immunization is aimed at achieving the following:-
Immunization helps to prevent contracting devastating diseases as well as help control their spread through the administration of simple and affordable vaccines. This can be achieved through setting up national immunization days (NIDS). NIDs are high visibility campaign activities designed to identify and immunize all eligible children within a one to three or five day time period during two counds which are four to six weeks apart. Implementations of NIDs activities have raised immunization high on the agenda of nations, making it possible to immunize more than 158 million children in 43 African countries (UNICEF 2000).
According to Obiozor, and Onyekwere, (1999:131), the media provide the instrument for opinion formation, sustenance and change through their capacity to transmit information and if used interpretatively and analytically the media can help direct the mind of the audience on how to think about issues and events. If the mass media are to function effectively in disseminating health news, then the practitioners must understand the nitty-gritty of health care delivery, how policies are developed and their relationship to health problems as well as the reasons for selecting various technologies to deliver health services.
Available records indicate that with the absence and rejection of immunization, about 216, 000 Nigerian children will die each year, an average of about 600 per day (Imoh, 2013) and an additional 100,000 children are liable to physical disability. Measles in particular is a major community health problem with an estimate of 3.6 million causes occurring annually that result in about 108,000 infant mortalities and 54,000 morbidities (UNICEF, 1985). Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world where the wild polio virus is highly endemic (Imoh, 2013). In an attempt to tackle this, the Nigerian government embarked upon the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1975, with collaboration from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, mainly to achieve 80 percent of the eradication coverage within the target population by the year 1990. But owing to a lack of human and material resources allocated to the program, political maneuvers and discontinuity of government policies and unreliable commitments, lack of efficient communication between policy makers, implementers and beneficiaries of the program, the objectives were not achieved, (Imoh, 1991).
The strategies designed for the achievement of the program included routine immunization, targeted mop-ups, campaigns for polio eradication in the form of door immunization of children in the focal area, and Supplementary Immunization Days (SIDs) conducted rapidly to boost immunity for all children under 5years of age, regardless of their immunization records, these objectives had not been achieved because of the communication failure between technical and operational aspects, and community participation was taken granted (Imoh, 2013).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
According to Ransome-Kuti, (1989:16), there have been many examples of wrongful reporting of health issues which have often exposed the ignorance of health reporters, occasioned by proper care home work.
Health care delivery is a human activity in soloing community health problems and is propagating immunization messages. It should not be seen by media practitioners as routine coverage of consultative practices through identifying analyzing and segmenting audiences and participants in health programmes and providing them with relevant information and motivation through well defined strategies, it is on this note that researcher intends to find out the worth of role played by the mass media in immunization campaign on infant mortality in Ogun state using residents of Obafemi Owode Local Government Area as a study.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This researcher will be of benefit to the following people:
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study primarily focused on the role of the mass media in immunization campaign on infant mortality in Ogun State. The study was carried out among residents of Obafemi Owode Local Government Area.
1.7 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
The following words are operationally defined as to avoid misinterpretation by the readers.