EFFECT OF HEALTH EDUCATION INTERVENTION ON ACCEPTABILITY OF IMMUNIZATION AS A STRATEGY FOR PREVENTION OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS SPREAD AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN YOLA, ADAMAWA STATE - NIGERIA.

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus is a liver disease caused by the Deoxyribonucleic acid virus (DNA). It infects the liver cells and causes both acute and chronic liver diseases. This study examined the effect of health education on the acceptability of immunization as a strategy for the prevention of the Hepatitis B virus among pregnant women in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. One (1) research questions and hypothesis was formulated for this study. The population for this study comprised one hundred and forty-three thousand six hundred and eighty-nine (143,689) pregnant women registered in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The sample size consists of sixty (60) pregnant women who were drawn from the target population of pregnant women. Thirty (30) women were in the experimental group, while thirty (30) were in the control group for generalisation. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for this study. The instrument used for data collection was researcher researcher-developed questionnaire and hepatitis B modules (manual). The questionnaire was rated using a 4-point modified Likert scale. A pilot study was conducted to ascertain the reliability of the instrument; a reliability index of 0.919 was obtained, which implied that the instrument is reliable. Data collected were analysed using frequencies and percentages, means and standard deviation. Inferential statistics of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used in the test of the hypotheses at the fixed probability level of 0.05. Findings from the study revealed that a six-week health education programme has no effect on improved acceptability of HBV immunization, among pregnant women in Yola, Adamawa State, p- p-value is > 0.05. Based on the findings, the study recommended that pregnant women in Yola, Adamawa State, should continue to sustain the level of acceptability of immunization during prenatal and postnatal services as a preventive measure. Use of Posters, billboards, awareness campaigns and other communication channels could be beneficial to increase the knowledge of the public on measures against the hepatitis B virus.