1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to the oxford advanced learners dictionary, immunization is the process of protecting an individual or animal from a disease especially by giving them an injection or a vaccine. Immunization is also defined as a process by which human beings protect themselves from, or against deadly diseases such as poliomyelitis, measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, vaccination is also another name for immunizing living things against deadly diseases. Immunization is done to make the body resist invasion of pathogenic microbes like bacteria, protozoa and virus. In immunization, a small quantity of a dead parasitic organism is injected into the body of a healthy person (somebody that is free from that parasite organism), the body recognized the antigen as foreign response by realizing specialized protein called antibodies. These antibodies have specific protective properties and the body become immune against the disease that are caused by micro-organisms. Immunization can be active, positive, natural, or acquired.

Acquired immunity artificially when there is an epidemic outbreak of small doses, antibodies from an animal are given to people to provide urgent temporary immunity to the body. Active artificial immunity is done by injecting vaccine so as to weakened or kill the bacteria product into the body. In this way, the body can have its own antibodies, an example is the small pox vaccine.

Parent especially the mothers in question do not get their children immunized. The superstition belief or idea that disease are caused by witches and wizards are strongly rooted in their mind, some believes that diseases are caused by evil spirit and the only way out for them to avoid it is by offering sacrifice and some believe that it is the sin that the parents have committed towards the gods that make the child to be like that and there is no solution to the sickness of the child.

Some parent know where and how to obtain it but do not take their children to the clinic for immunization while others that made attempts to take their children to the clinic for immunization may start and will not complete the normal dose they are supposed to give to that child. In a particular health center, i.e. Ikpoba Okha Health center in Edo State, between January 2007 to December 2010, fifty six thousand six hundred and forty two (56,642) children were registered for different types of immunization. Out of these only thirty four thousand six hundred and twenty two (34, 622) children completed their immunization, the remaining twenty two thousand and twenty (22,020) fall to complete their immunization. Some mothers later brought their children to complete their immunization after along time. When they asked them why they did not bring their children ever since, the most population reason they gave was that, they were not chanced due to their jobs. They devoted much time to their jobs e.g. trading, government workers etc others said they came several times but in most occasions, the nurses asked them to go home that the health of their babies was poor.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The decision to carry out the study was due to the attitude of women towards immunization in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area. In the past, many children died before the age of 5 or before the school age due to communicable diseases e.g. tuberculosis, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, measles, tetanus etc. they did not know that these disease could be prevented. These communicable disease were discovered by scientific researcher, clinics are established where the disease can be  prevented by treatment. Many people are not still making use of the clinic and health center, perhaps due to ignorance, inability of mothers to get the facilities or non availability of vaccine or lack of understanding.

?

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY  

This research work is an attempt to study the attitude of mothers towards immunization in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area in Edo State. The purpose of this study is to:

1. To find out why mothers refused to bring their children for immunization

2. To know why some mothers started but refuse to complete the normal schedule

3. To know or find out how many children register in the clinic and health center for the immunization during the period of January 2010 to December 2010.

4. To know the number of children who started the immunization and completed the normal schedule

5. To know the number of children that started the immunization but refuse to complete it.