Influence of Literacy on Mothers\' Patronage of Government Primary Health Care (PHC) Services in Ibadan North Local Government, Nigeria.

Abstract

The United Nations set out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which nations of the World should strive to achieve by 2015. Goals four, five and six deal with health related issues. It is believed that these goals cannot be achieved without adequate use of the Primary Health Care Services. Based on the strength of literacy to positively influence peoples life; this study examines the influence it would have on mothers' patronage of government Primary Health Care Services. The population of this study comprised the entire residents of Ibadan North Local Government while the Multi-Stage Sampling Procedure was used to select the three hundred respondents used for the study. Analysis of data collected for the study revealed that there is low patronage of government Primary Health Care Services by literate Mothers. It is also discovered that the low patronage is not due to lack of knowledge, low quality services or lack of sensitivity to child health by mothers. The study therefore, recommends among others, that government and non-governmental organizations should educate the highly literate mothers on why it is better to use the government Primary Health Care Services.

Keywords: Literacy, Mothers' Patronage, Government, Primary Health.

International Journal of Emotional Psychology and Sport Ethics Vol. 10 2008: pp. 156-164