CHILD-SURVIVAL MESSAGE-COMMUNICATION SKILLS, ATTITUDE OF HEALTH WORKERS AND MOTHERS’ READINESS TO ADOPT SURVIVAL STRATEGIES AMONG ATTENDEES IN ADEOYO MATERNITY HOSPITAL, IBADAN
ABSTRACT
Child mortality remains a major concern of public health because high rate of child mortality persists in developing and under-developed countries. The introduction of child-survival interventions has caused substantial reduction in child mortality. Inadequate implementation seems to be attributed to healthcare workers’ attitude and communication skills. This research work was undertaken at Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Ibadan to determine the perception of mothers regarding how the attitude and communication skills of healthcare workers have influenced their readiness to adopt child-survival strategies.
The study adopted a cross-sectional design and employed a 37-item questionnaire. One hundred and forty three mothers participated in the study after seeking their consent for participation. Systematic random sampling was the sampling technique employed. Rating scales were computed for the variables while ANOVA and regression analysis were applied for the test of significance and independence respectively.
The mean age of mothers who participated in the study was 29 ± 5.70. The proportion of married women that participated in the study was higher (87.4%) than single (8.4%) and widowed/divorced (4.2%) women. Christian respondents had higher proportion (62.2%) compared to Muslim affiliated participants. Majority of the participants (78.3%) attained tertiary level of education, 15.4% had secondary level of education while 6.3% had primary level of education. High proportions (86.7%) of the respondents are of Yoruba ethnic origin followed by Igbo (13.3%). There were 37.8% of the respondents who have a single child, while 23.8% have more than two children and 28% have two children. Majority of the respondents were attending the clinic for more than two times (72.7%) while 19.6% reported for the second time and 7.7% of the respondent attending for the first time at the time of the study. Perceived attitude of healthcare workers towards child-survival on a 30-point rating scale had a mean score of 20.49 ± 3.77 while perceived communication skills of healthcare workers in disseminating child-survival messages on a 30-point rating scale had a mean score of 19.99 ± 3.29. Readiness of mothers to adopt child-survival strategies was measured on a 30-point rating scale and had a mean score of 19.32 ± 4.13. There was significant association between perceived attitude towards child-survival and mothers’ readiness to adopt child-survival strategies (R = 0.527; R2 = 0.278; p <0.05). Significant association was observed between perceived communication skills of healthcare workers to motivate mothers’ adoption of child-survival strategies and mothers’ readiness to adopt the strategies (R = 0.639; R2 = 0.394; p <0.05). Perceived attitude and communication skills had 40.8% contribution to mothers’ readiness (df = 2; R2 = 0.408; p < 0.05) where communication skills had more contribution (β = 0.510; t = 5.548; p < 0.05).
Findings from the study showed that mothers’ readiness to adopt child-survival strategies was above average. Mothers made claims that there was poor comprehension due to poor communication. The study recommends review of communication methods and approach to cause improved motivation in mothers to implement child-survival strategies.
Keywords: Perceived attitude, Perceived communication skills, Healthcare workers, Mothers, Child-survival, Mothers’ readiness