APPRAISING THE BENEFITS OF PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF LOCAL ENDEMIC DISEASES AS A COMPONENT OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE TO RURAL WOMEN IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

This study determined the benefits of prevention and control of local endemic diseases as a component of Primary Health Care to rural women in South East Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A sample of 395 respondents comprising 226 young and 169 middle-aged rural women drawn through multi-staged sampling technique from a population of 34, 859 rural women in the South East were used for the study. The sample size was determined using the Taro Yamene sampling formula. The instrument for data collection was a 22-item questionnaire titled Rural Women’s Benefit in Prevention and Control of Diseases Questionnaire (RWBPCDQ). The instrument was validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha statistic was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded 0.87 coefficients. Out of 395 copies of the questionnaire administered, 376 copies (95%) were used for data analysis. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three research questions raised. The findings showed among others that the benefits of prevention and control of local endemic diseases to rural women in South East Nigeria include; eating enough vegetables, proper disposal of solid waste, protecting food from rats and insects and putting beddings in the sun at regular intervals. The study therefore recommended among others that Ministries of Education and Health in collaboration with the school authorities should map out programmes that will get the students and parents well-informed on the ways of preventing and controlling local endemic diseases in the school and at home respectively.