Role Of Mass Media In Eradicating Maternal Death Among Women

This research examined mass media efforts in eradicating maternal death with a case study of women in Ilesha West local government. Maternal death or maternal mortality refers to the death of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Uses and Gratification and Agenda Setting Theory were used to explain the contribution of mass media as related to the media effort in eradicating maternal death. Survey research method was used in which questionnaire is adopted as a primary data collection. 100 respondents were accidentally selected from the five major communities in Ilesa West Local Government namely: Ereja Square, Itakogun, Isokun and Oke-Omiru, Ita-Ofa. Findings show that mass media especially radio and television are playing a very crucial role in reducing maternal death among women by way of regular sensitization and educative programmes, including sensitising women on family planning and prenatal exercise.

The research recommends that mass media especially the electronic media should partner with government, NGOs and other international organization like World Health Organization and UNICEF in bringing their activities to the doorstep of the women and concern public because no matter their effort might be if not disseminated appropriately it may not have positive impact on the target people and one of the fasted and easiest way to converge message is through the mass media.

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Communication is at the centre of any development activity. It cuts across various spheres of human endeavors such as health, agriculture, education, infrastructure, among others. Communication has become an indispensable tool used in pooling ideas across all divides, aimed at promoting an enduring environment for humanity. For this reason, it is considered a transactional process, such that all the stakeholders involved in any development are brought together to achieve a definite goal. One key area of communication for development is health - a situation described by WHO as ―a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Communication in this context is considered as goal-driven, since all the relevant stakeholders of health are involved in decision making towards effective health delivery system in the society.

It also records that worldwide, every year, about 500,000 women die due to child birth and over 9million children under age five die mostly from preventable and treatable diseases and everyday in 2015, about 830 women die due to complications of pregnancy and child birth (WHO, 2017).

Merson (2006) opines that Nigeria ranks second in the world behind India, in terms of the maternal mortality ratio and ranks eighth in sub-saharan Africa among seven other countries. Merson (2006) also conducted a research that supported the need for an increased response in maternal health care and advocacy campaign to focus the public, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and policy attention on the issue of maternal health in Nigeria.

This is why this research is focused on an assessment of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the Society for Family Health (NGO) (NGO) social media to improve maternal and child health in Osun State. A statement in 2007 by Northern State Governors Forum in Nigeria, declared their commitment for free maternal and child health programmes in their respective states with the aim of reducing the alarming maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.

Osun State happens to be among these states. In 2006, the scheme FREE MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES, guided by a policy document and transitional operational guideline, 26 state governments-owned and local government-owned hospitals, 113 primary health care facilities participated in the programme in which about 184,783 pregnant women benefited. Apart from the efforts of the federal government, NGO"s (USAID, UNICEF e.t.c) have also made effort towards the MDG goal of improving maternal and child health. More so on the 17th January 2017 Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) announced its $10 million commitment to the Global financing facility in support of every woman and child in low and lower middle income countries worldwide.

There are many maternal and child health projects carried out by Society for Family Health, among them is the Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria (ESMPIN), Project on family planning, antenatal care, diarrhea, and nutrition. The Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria (ESMPIN) is a five-year $56 million project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through ESMPIN, Society for Family Health in collaboration with Population Service International (PSI), BBC Media Action (BBCMA) and Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), aims to expand access to family planning and improve child survival in Nigeria through the private sector market.

Approximately $30 million of the project value is in donated commodities. Contracted in April 2011 to NGO―the lead implementing partner―the project"s operations commenced in July 2011. ESMPIN project report (2013-2014).
According to ESMPIN project report (2013-2014), ―The project"s key objectives are to significantly expand family planning access and availability; increase knowledge, attitudes, perception, and practices towards child spacing; engender a sustainable partnership with key stakeholders; and enhance the capability of the commercial sector in Nigeria to provide family planning products. The ESMPIN team proposed to act as a spur in Nigeria"s family planning intervention efforts in three significant ways: first, Providing direct provision of more than 23 million couples years of protection (CYP) and contribute to achieve national CPR of 19.7% over the life of the project; second, Growing the overall market for family planning in Nigeria by generating increased demand; and third Promoting graduation of short-term method users to increasingly use mid-term and longer-acting methods.

In essence, Communication is vital in every aspect of life especially when it has to do with health. This is why this research assesses the Social media used by NGOs and its effectiveness in the place of MCH.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

According to the United Nations Family Planning Agency (n:d), over half a million women die each year due to complications during pregnancy and child birth. Also, Lindros and Lawkkainen, (2004) found that about 69% of women still give birth in a traditional setting either at home or in a church and that only 30% of people in the rural areas have access to health care within 4 km distance. This also relates to the findings of USAID (2013) which says 43% of women in Nigeria receive no Maternal and Child Health related information within a year. According to UNFPA (n:d), at the millennium Summit in 2000, States resolved to reduce maternal child mortality in three quarters by the year 2015, among which the popular MDG is a part. Nigerian government have made it a commitment to its citizens to see that each of the goals especially MDG 4 and 5 is tackled.

Maternal and child health promotion is one of the functions of Society for Family Health (NGO), with offices spread across Nigeria. In order to sensitize the public on MCH and other functions, various social media are used to reach their audience. Despite these strategies, the rate of child mortality in Osun State remains high in the past10 years with an estimate of 163/1000 live births (Bako et al, 2016). Although, there have been various research like Zamawa (2015) and Odesanya et al (2015) conducted in Nigeria that see communication as key to reducing Maternal and Child Mortality yet most of this research work ignore the fact that there are specific Social media that suit specific kinds of people not minding their level of exposure or education; this is revealed in the findings of UNICEF (2005), Brown and Small (2016), Okechukwu et al (2015) and many more found in literature review. However, this is a major gap the present research has filled. In other words this study takes a look at the social media being used by the NGO such as interpersonal communication, mass media, talk shows, drama, flipcharts and cinema, in promoting maternal and child health in Osun State with a view to assessing their effectiveness or ineffectiveness. It also attempts to identify its most effective communication strategy for the campaign.

1.3 Research Objectives

The study aims at assessing the role of Social media in eradicating maternal death in Ilesha West L.G.A. The specific objectives are:

To know the social media used by Society for Family Health in eradicating maternal death in Ilesha West LGA.

To know how the Social media used by NGO to create awareness, knowledge and practice are used to eradicate maternal death in Ilesha West LGA.

To assess the Social media used by NGO in eradicating maternal death in Ilesha West LGA.

To examine the constraints in Communicating Maternal and Child Health by NGO in Ilesha West LGA.

1.3 Research Questions

What are the Social media used by NGOs in eradicating maternal death in Ilesha West LGA?

How are the Social media used by NGO to create awareness, knowledge and practice to improve Maternal and child Health in Ilesha West LGA?

What influences do the Social media have on the target audience (pregnant women, and children under five) in Ilesha West LGA?

What are the constraints faced by NGOs in Communicating Maternal and Child Health in Ilesha West LGA?

1.4 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study involves pregnant women, nursing mothers in the Primary Health Centers, NGO staff in Osun state. The areas covered is limited to Ilesha West local Government areas in Osun state. This is because NGO has carried out its campaign in these areas within the last 10 months, using the various media such as social media, interpersonal communication, drama, talk shows, among others.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Maternal and child mortality in Nigeria has consumed millions of lives due to improper communication among other reasons; effective communication programmes are meant to identify the right channels and content that will draw attention to the use of health information (WHO, 2012). International Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, Federal Governments have contributed their quota, but it seems their efforts are not yielding the desired results: Could it be that the right social media are not employed for the right target audience? This is why this study seeks to assess the social media used by NGO in communicating MCH messages and know if the strategies are effective or ineffective.

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

Assessment:

In this research assessment is seen as an examination or an evaluation of the different social media used by NGO in communicating MCH components.

Social Media:

The different channels or means of passing messages to a target audience.

Maternal and Child Health:

The complete well-being of a mother and child during and after child birth. i.e physical, psychological and social well-being.

Communication Agents:

These are the people trained by NGO to communicate maternal health messages to the Women

Maternal Mortality:

Is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.

Child Mortality:

Also known as under-5 mortality is the death of infants and children under the age of 5.

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Summary of Findings

There is no gainsaying the fact that the issue of maternal and child health is taking the center stage in most developmental discussions both locally and globally. Evidence abounds to illustrate that Nigerian health institutions are in a poor state. This position is justified because a large percentage of pregnant women and children live on share grace especially those in the rural areas. However, with government at all levels, be it federal, state and local governments and also NGO"s (NGO) faced with the onerous obligations of how to provide better health to its populace, there is the need to undertake a study of this nature to empirically find out the extent of effectiveness of the strategies being employed by communication agents to help provide Maternal/Child health care in Nigeria.

5.2 Conclusion

Based on the above findings, the following conclusion is reached: Women in the study area are knowledgeable on the issue of maternal and child health, these can be improved by the theses of the theoretical framework employed by the researcher ( HBM and PMT) which says health information should be consistent and persuasive so as to convince the set target and achieve a desired behaviour.

Furthermore, interpersonal communication was the nursing mothers" major source of information and most preferred on Maternal and Child Health. Thus, despite the influences of other Social media on maternal health, inter-personal communication was perceived as the most preferred Communication Strategy employed in the study area. This agrees with the findings of Synder (nd) that any health communication campaign that wants to be successful must pay attention to differences among the target population and their environments, which is what the present research has found. In terms of how these communication agents have helped in creating awareness amongst these women, data from the study (table 4.11) shows that these women now attend antenatal care, practice exclusive breastfeeding and family planning. This assertion notwithstanding, their roles could be enhanced if the hindrances/constraints they face are addressed by all stakeholders.

Following the objectives of the study and the results obtained, the study arrived generally at the conclusion that Social media being employed by NGO in the study areas are effective and contribute positively to the awareness, knowledge and practice of Maternal and Child Health in Ilesha West Local Government Areas.

5.2 Recommendations

Society for Family Health as well as other developmental organizations should consistently evaluate the different social media discovered in this research so as to know which strategy suites different audience. This will go a long way to improve the health of women and children in Osun and Nigeria at large.

The communication agents should visit the targeted women in their homes more often to enlighten them on maternal and child health issues.

Communication agent and strategist should be sensitive in the use of local language that is understood by the target audience in passing their messages.

There should be continuous training of the communication agents, health workers etc used in any developmental project like ESMPIN so as to tackle the problem of unqualified personnel, ignorance and lack of sustainability of projects in Nigeria.

Communication Agents like Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) should ensure regular appraisal of each strategy, so that the strength of each strategy can be used to complement the weakness of the other.

State and local governments as well as religious and traditional leaders should encourage girl child education as well as adult education among women in order to make communication easy.

There should be regular airing/teaching of the components of MCH via mass media, interpersonal communication; women meetings etc. This will improve awareness, knowledge and practice of the pregnant and nursing mothers in Nigeria.

NGOs should ensure that there is constant visitation, monitoring and evaluation of the community they are working with, in order to know the extent to which the communication strategy is influencing their behavior.

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