| dc.description.abstract | Despite the available simple and low-cost child care strategy, Nigeria continues to record
unacceptable high child mortality rate with obvious un-accomplishment of the 4th millennium
development goal by the year 2015. Interestingly, faith based setting as an approach to health
promotion and education has proven positive in areas of health. However, its utilisation in
developing countries including Nigeria has been minimal. This study therefore investigated
the suitability of adoption of faith-based approach to promote child care practices through
Pastors’ wives in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
The study uses a descriptive cross-sectional design. It was targeted at all Pastors’ wives of
registered churches except the Roman Catholic Church which officially forbids marriage for
her Pastors. Using the multi-stage sampling technique, selected pastors’ wives completed a
pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire that sought information on sociodemographic
profiles, health related programmes involved in, knowledge of child survival
strategy, communication methods, challenges and ways assistance can be given toward
involvement in child care programmes. The study was conducted in compliance with
standard ethical research procedures. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chisquare
test, t-test and F test at p≤ 0.05.
A total of 128 pastors’ wives and women leaders (mean age 46.1±9.3 years) participated in
the study. They were mainly Yorubas’ (87.5), had university degree (35.9%), into business
and trading (29.7%), mothers with at least a child; except for 2.30% of the pastors’ wives.
The results showed that 49.2% had attended at least a health-related programme in the past.
Interestingly, all were interested in attending and organizing health related programmes in
the future with child care programme as of most importance (n=85 and n=87). Analysis
showed that pastors’ wives were unaware of child survival strategy as only 13.4% had some
level of knowledge. However, the pastors’ wives had different degrees of knowledge on the
components in child survival strategy. Family planning (79.3%), breastfeeding (72.3%) and
immunization (67.0%) were the most known while complementary feeding (40.2%) and
growth monitoring (35.9%) were the least known. It was also observed that pastors’ wives
(99.2%) and women (92.2%) communicate health issues among each other and that 58.6%
reported to be faced with constraints. While all the pastors wives except 0.8%, were willing
to conduct child care practice programmes in the church, 99.2% reported they required
assistance to do so.
Many of the Pastors’ wives were unaware of child survival strategy. However, the fact that
they were interested in child care programmes, communicate health-related issues with
mothers and women, coupled with their willingness to conduct child care programme
indicate their suitability in the promotion of child care practice in faith-based settings.
Nevertheless, the importance of training pastors’ wives on child care programmes targeted at
improving child health cannot be overemphasized. | en_US |
