Abstract
This study evaluated the use of social advertising in enhancing diffusion of meningitis vaccine campaigns among women in Anambra State. The main objective of the study is to ascertain whether information on meningitis vaccine is understood and practiced and whether it has to reduce the cases of meningitis in Anambra State. Related literature that are relevant to the study were reviewed with the agenda-setting, uses and gratifications theories and the health believe models as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study adopted the survey research design in examining 399 respondents selected from the 2,422,920 population of women in Anambra State using the Taro Yamani’s sample size determination formula. The purposive and multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select and reach the actual respondents. The study found among others that Anambra State women understood the meningitis vaccine campaigns; they also practice it leading to reduction in meningitis cases
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Meningitis is a common occurrence in West African countries located in
the meningitis belt. They impose serious challenges on the health, social and
economic development of any family where it exists. According to Ogunmekan
(2007) cited in Anene (2012) communicable diseases are significant causes of
morbidity and it is generally accepted that immunization against common
specific infections worldwide is important.
However, information about meningitis and how to prevent them in most
cases being emphasized in the news media by government and NGO’s campaign has
been casual. George (2002) pointed out that one of the factors accounting to
low coverage of immunization is lack of knowledge about the benefits derivable
from it. Immunization has gone a long way in helping to save lives of people
within the vaccination range. It is expected therefore that efforts should be
geared towards creating awareness, persuading families, about meningitis
scourge and what to do to curtail its grip on the society. According to WHO
(2007) only about 13 percent of Nigerian children are immunized. This has been
largely due to lack of information and knowledge about the benefits of
immunization. People do not give priority to preventive health for lack of awareness,
which also prevents illiterate people in rural areas from accepting such
campaign. An average mother is supposed to have adequate knowledge about
meningitis vaccine campaign. In most cases, this ideal situation does not exist
leading to death of most patients. According
to NAN (2014) meningitis disease accounts for 170,000 deaths in the country
annually, but there is a registered number of 65 cases with 33 death in 22
states of the federation as at 2011. NAN (2014) further states Anambra State is
one of the high risk states lying in the prone meningitis zone.
There is the belief that immunization programme is associated with
fertility control hence, a mode of family planning. Lack of adequate
information and education on these vaccines has prevented diffusion in rural
areas (Omotara et al 2012). This lack of proper diffusion of information on
meningitis vaccine campaign can be attributed to inappropriate use of campaign
strategies, medium, or channel.
The basic tenet of any campaign is to appeal to the people to change
their old behaviours, accept new behaviours or reinforce either of the two.
This is where social advertising comes in because it fosters behavioural
change. No nation can develop in absence of positive behavioural change. Social
advertising is designed to induce the audience to accept a new behavioural
pattern, reject an old pattern or modify a current behavioural pattern (Okoye,
2011).
The basic thrust of social advertising is to promote the sales of a behaviour
change to a targeted group of individuals. It’s primary purpose is for societal
benefit rather than for commercial profit (Smith, 1999). It is imperative
therefore to note that the role of serial advertising towards national
development is very remarkable as it contributes in no measure towards shaping
the attitude of people in various spheres of human endeavors (Tucker, 2014).
Social advertising is used in educating people, creating awareness,
inducing and. appealing to people’s emotion, causing widespread diffusion of
information. Social advertising has come a long way in Nigeria. From all
analysis, it has a lot of influence on the people through presentation of
crucial information using either the conventional or social media (Nwasiuzor,
2015). As has been noted before, social or advocacy advertising played a
crucial role in creating awareness against the Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria.
The HIV/AIDS scourge has been demystified using social advertising strategies
in exposing its modes and making the people armed with the information to deal
with it. Today, HIV positive patients no longer hide their identities. They now
associate freely as a result of massive social advertising campaigns mounted by
both conventional and social media platforms (Okafor, 2011). Also, the use of
long lasting treated nets has become a welcome development in many household
across the nation. This could be attributed to the use of social advertising
campaigns as ensuring wide diffusion of the information regarding the benefits
of the INTs as government at various levels run the adverts on social media,
conventional media and billboards (Igbobili, 2011).
Social advertising, which can be described as the application of
marketing and advertising principles to promote health and social issues and
bringing about positive behavior change can be used in sensitizing women on the
importance of meningitis vaccine campaign. Social advertising can be used to
promote a community’s health and well being such as programmes that educate
people about drugs, diseases, vaccines, immunization and other social issues
(Thesaurus, 1998). The emphasis here is that social advertising tends to
influence behavioural and attitudinal change, promote health and social issues
of the audience on issues of government.
Most commercials aimed at societal benefits carried by government,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or corporate bodies directly relayed to
people’s attitudes through the media are known as social advertising (Okoye,
2011). The primary aim is to eradicate social ills, change behaviours of
people, improve reputation of an organization, encourage best practices and
cause wide diffusion of information (Nwasiuzor, 2015). Because social
advertising campaigns can be used to educate people, it can therefore be used
to curtail certain militating factors to the utilization of vaccine programme.
According to
Partnership Transformation Health System PATHS (2004) several socio demographic
factors such as educational level, low income can affect uptake of immunization
services by the people. The educated and those with higher social-economic
status could have greater awareness of vaccine campaign activities and
benefits. This increases a person’s exposure to information and consequently a
better and higher knowledge of vaccine preventable diseases. The problem
however is that majority of the people in rural areas are not knowledgeable or
educated enough to be exposed to these relevant information without a conscious
effort at mounting social advertising campaigns.
People’s levels of exposure to information have significant relationship
with their behaviours hence low acceptance level of any social campaign. The
desire to provide immunization against meningitis and other vaccine preventable
disease led to the launching of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in
Nigeria in 1978 and the implementation process in 1979 (Federal Ministry of
Health (FMOH) 2004; National Programme on Immunization (NP1)2001; Sofoluwe
2006). According to FMOH (2004), the first five years of implementation in
Nigeria resulted in low coverage hence the programme was revised and relaunched
in 1984. There was however a sharp decline in immunization coverage just like
most other Primary Health Care (PHC) programmes after initial success, which was
attributed to the support the programme received from all levels of government
in Nigerias, the partnership with foreign Non- Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), social mobilization and the motivated health work force.
Not-withstanding, rural communities are usually neglected during plans for
immunization programmes, they are usually underserved. This section of the
society needs effective information on expanded programne on immunization. If
this is done