Vol. 3, Issue 10, Part A (2017)

Abstract
Objective Rotavirus gastroenteritis is rated 2^nd among the most frequent causes of mortality and an important agent responsible for diarrhea infection in children <5years with occurrence as high as 25% in Nigeria. One important path to prevent and reduce its infection and offer the reliance for control is vaccination. Rotavirus vaccine has been included in the routine immunization program of many countries while Nigeria still awaits its 2017 proposed inclusion into national immunization scheme. This study assessed the influence of nurse-led educational intervention on mothers’ knowledge and readiness for rotavirus vaccine in Ikenne Local Government, Ogun State. Nigeria. Method A quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and a post-test of knowledge and readiness for use of rotavirus vaccine among mothers (n=30) of 0-8weeks infants. It explored the baseline knowledge and readiness using a self-developed questionnaire. The intervention consisted of pictorial illustrations of rotavirus disease management and prevention using in-depth and understandable teaching language. Differences in knowledge and readiness before and after a nurse-led educational intervention was analyzed using descriptive and paired t-analyses with the level of consistency was 0.8. Results 70% of mothers had poor knowledge of rotavirus vaccine as well as readiness to use. Nurse-led educational intervention significantly influenced mothers’ knowledge and readiness to use rotavirus vaccine with mean differences of 4.8 and 3.27 respectively. However, readiness appeared to be lower than acquired knowledge; this may be due to the present cost of rotavirus vaccine and non-availability at Primary Health Care centres. The outcome of this study revealed that majority of mothers would have shown readiness to use rotavirus vaccine if available in the NPI as recommended by W.H.O since 2009. Mothers recognized diarrhea as a deadly disease common among children and admitted that immunization would be the most cost-effective method of prevention. Conclusion This study concluded that improving mothers ‘knowledge and readiness to use a new vaccine such as rotavirus is essential to achieve a successful decline in rotavirus-gastroenteritis among children in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that the government of Nigeria timely includes rotavirus vaccine in the NPI as proposed.