Ugochukwu Chinyem Madubueze and colleagues published the results of Ugochukwu's IMPRINT public engagement project "Effect of information, education and communication interventions on awareness, risk perception and confidence in the uptake of maternal vaccination in Ebonyi State, Nigeria" in African Health Sciences.

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Awareness, knowledge, risk perception and uptake of maternal vaccination in rural communities of Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Introduction: Knowledge and uptake of maternal vaccination has been reported to be low in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: To determine the knowledge, uptake and determinants of uptake of maternal vaccination among women of child-bearing age.

Methods: A cross sectional study was done among 607 women of childbearing age selected from rural communities in Ebonyi State using multi-staged sampling technique. A pretested, interviewer administered questionnaire was used. The proportion of maternal vaccination uptake and predictors of uptake was determined at 5% level of significant using multiple logistic regression model.

Results: Most of the respondents (39.9%) were in the 15–24 years age group. Only 1.3% and 41.5% were knowledgeable and had received any form of maternal vaccines respectively. The main reasons adduced for non-receipt of the vaccine was lack of information (65.8%) and not being pregnant (23.5%). Pregnancy was the predictor for uptake of maternal vaccine among the study population.

Conclusions: There was low level of knowledge and uptake of maternal vaccine among rural women and a myth that the vaccine is only given when pregnant. This calls for increase targeted enlightenment of rural women on maternal vaccine in order to improve uptake.

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UC Madubueze, AFI Una, IN Okedo-Alex, VM Agha, CD Umeokonkwo, II Eze, R Utulu, KC Okeke, UN Agbo, LN Nwobashi, C Alo, BN Azuogu. Awareness, knowledge, risk perception and uptake of maternal vaccination in rural communities of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. African Health Sciences, 22(4):306-317, December 2022, doi: 10.4314/ahs.v22i4.36. PMID: 37092060.