Perception, attitude and willingness of under-five children caregivers to growth monitoring in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Objective: This study was carried out to explore perceptions ofunder five caregivers on growth monitoring in Ibadan south-west local government in Nigeria.

Method: Descriptive. cross-sectional-design was used for the study which involved four-stage sampling techniques. The study was conducted among the 410 caregivers who consented to participate. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect the data. The questionnaire elicited information on sociodemographic characteristics, Knowledge, Attitude and Growth -Monitoring perceptions were measured on a 16-point scale and categorizedinto "negative" (≤8) and positive (>8) Descriptive statistics -using mean and standard deviation were generated while qualitative data was analysed using Atlas Ti version 7. Result Mean age of the Caregivers of Under-5 was 31.6±6.5 years, 46.8% had secondary education and 56.8% were traders. Majority (88.3%) had received information on Growth Monitoring and (66:6%) heard from the health workers. Almost all the: respondents (90.0%) had positive perception towards Growth Monitoring (10.8±2.9). It was also suggested by the caregivers that their involvement is very crucial in monitoring the growth of their children. Concusion: The study showed that most of the caregivers. had positive perceptions towards growth monitoring and advocated their active involvement if training progriammes can be developed.