| Title: | Attitude of Women to Maternal Health Information Sources in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria |
| Author(s): | Abdulhameed Kayode AGBOOLA & Aisha Nana ABDULRAHAMAN |
| Abstract: | This study investigated the perception of sources of maternal health information among women in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State. The study employed survey method. A purposive sample of 384 respondents was drawn and questionnaire was administered to them. The response rate was 99.99%. Overall findings reveal that conventional mass media is still the major and most preferred source of maternal health information among the rural women as indicated by the majority 124(32.0%) of the respondents who strongly agreed that they preferred maternal health information being broadcast through TV, while 117 (30.2%) of them disagreed on this but they preferred maternal health information through the print media. Also, family members and health experts are still relevant in maternal health information dissemination. Language barrier is the reason why respondents reports health information as not informative. Print media and Internet are less attractive to the women in Chanchaga as a source of maternal health information. The study concludes that lack of health information in local or indigenous language is militating against good knowledge of maternal health issues among the women in the area. And that social-economic factor is one of the reasons why print media and Internet are not patronized as sources of maternal health among women in Chanchaga local government. The study recommends that government should embark on social mobilization campaigns using the indigenous languages to create awareness and in-depth knowledge on maternal health. |
| Keywords: | Maternal health, mass media, information empowerment, health-seeking behaviour |
