THE NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
ISSN: 0331-4111 e-ISSN: 2736-075X
Volume 23, No. 1, June 2025
Pages 111-127
DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/5202.32.0160
Social Context of Childhood Immunisation Services Utilisation in Zamfara State, Nigeria
Kabiru Ibrahim Yankuzo
Department of Sociology, Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria
Abstract
Failure of parents or care givers to effectively support under-five children to receive all recommended doses of vaccines against childhood killer diseases in Nigeria remains one of the major causes of under-fives mortality in the country. This study examined the utilisation of childhood immunisation services in Zamfara State. It also examined the relationship between uptake of childhood immunisation services and place of residence as well as religious background. The study’s quantitative data (from primary and secondary sources) were based on Anderson’s Health Seeking Behaviour Model’s theoretical framework. Using a Multistage Cluster Sampling technique, 384 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to mothers with children under five. Version 21 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilised to analyse the data. The study discovered that with exception of BCG vaccine that is given at birth, none of the vaccine doses received by up to 60% of under-five children in Zamfara State. The findings also established that children were more likely to receive first doses of vaccines compared to the subsequent ones. It was also found that utilisation of childhood immunisation was not significantly related to place of residence and religious background. It is recommended that government should carry out mobilisation campaigns enlightening parents and the general public on the appropriate times of child immunisation, recommended doses of vaccines that under-fives should receive as well as advantages children who receive all the recommended doses have over those who did not.
Keywords: Childhood immunisation, utilisation of immunisation services, under-five mortality