Mothers’ Characteristics and Immunization Status of Under-Five Children in Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria

Immunization is a key element of public health, a pre-requisite tosocial and economic development, and a crucial element that enables every child to reachhis or her full physical and intellectual potential. It is a prevention against variouschild killer diseases such as tuberculosis (Bacillus Calmette Gurine [BCG]), tetanus,whooping cough, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, yellow fever, and measles. Themain objective of this study is to examine the relationships between householdcharacteristics, social mobilization, and immunization status of under-5 children inLagos metropolis, Nigeria. To achieve this objective, a non-experimental research designwas adopted. The research method utilized in the design is cross-sectional survey. Thesampled study location is Ojo local government area of Lagos State. A total of 265respondents were randomly sampled for the survey using multistage random samplingtechnique. Generated data were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and multivariatestatistical techniques. The findings of the study reveal significant relationshipbetween women’s level of education and full immunization of their children.Specifically, 38.9% of women without any formal education had fully immunized theirchildren compared with 86.9% of women with secondary education. In addition, 90.9% ofwomen who assessed themselves to be average on wealth assessment compared with 45.3% ofthe poor had fully immunized their children. On the basis of the study’s findings, thereis a need for a holistic approach that will involve all social classes and communitieson child immunization to have 100% immunization coverage and minimal child morbidity andmortality in all areas of the city