A rural/urban comparison of paternal involvement in childhood immunisation in Ogun Central Senatorial District, Nigeria

Background: Paternal involvement in vaccination programmes is associated with improved uptake of childhood immunisation. However, paternal involvement is low in many climes including Nigeria. This study aimed to compare paternal involvement in childhood immunisation in urban and rural areas of Ogun Central Senatorial District, Nigeria.

Materials and methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study involving 440 fathers each in urban and rural areas selected using a multistage sampling method. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was employed to obtain data. Analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Chi-square test was used to assess the associations between categorical variables, whereas t-test was used to compare the means of respondents' involvement scores. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of paternal involvement. Results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). P < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

Results: The mean age of respondents in urban areas was 36.58 ± 6.76 and the mean age of respondents in rural areas was 37.61 ± 9.79. The difference in the mean age of urban and rural residents was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Paternal involvement was significantly better among fathers in rural areas, with 79.8% of them having good involvement as compared to only 50.0% of the urban respondents (P = < 0.001). Being educated up to the tertiary level (adjusted OR [AOR] = 2.43, 95% CI = 1.66-3.57) was the predictor of involvement in childhood immunisation among fathers in the urban area. Among fathers in rural areas, being currently married (AOR = 4.51, 95% CI = 2.12-9.60) was the predictor of involvement in childhood immunisation.

Conclusion/recommendation: Paternal involvement in childhood immunisation is better among rural dwellers compared to urban dwellers. Educated and currently married fathers who have the propensity to be more involved can be trained as peer educators to encourage others to participate, particularly in the urban areas.