“FIND THE MISSING MILLIONS” MEDIA CAMPAIGN ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS HEPATITIS B SCREENING TEST IN NORTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between undergraduate students’ exposure to the “Find the Missing Millions” media campaign and hepatitis B screening and vaccination in North-Eastern Nigeria. The study sought to determine the level of exposure to the campaign among the undergraduate students, identify the major channels through which they received campaign information and determine the proportion of the students who had undergone hepatitis B screening and vaccine. The study adopted a survey design. The study population comprised 65,708 undergraduate students across six purposively selected universities in North-Eastern Nigeria, and Taro Yamane’s formula for sample size determination yielded a sample of three hundred and ninety-three (398) respondents. A multistage sampling procedure was employed. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage); 387 of the 398-questionnaire administered were usable, a response rate of 98.5 per cent. Because only students who had previously encountered campaign materials were eligible for inclusion, the students’ exposure level cannot be taken as an estimate of the campaign’s reach among the wider undergraduate population; the finding instead describes how already-exposed students responded to the campaign. Findings showed that 204 respondents (52.7%) had been screened for hepatitis B, while 183 (47.3%) had not. Of the 204 who were screened, only 30 (14.7%) went on to be vaccinated and 17 (8.3%) were receiving treatment, while 135 (66.2%) took no further action. T-shirts (20.7%), family/friends (20.7%), internet/social media (18.6%), and television (14.5%) were the most frequently reported sources of campaign information. The study concludes that, although exposure to the campaign was widespread among the undergraduate students, this did not reliably translate into screening, and screening did not reliably translate into vaccination or treatment. The study recommends that campaign messaging give clearer guidance on where and how students can obtain vaccination after screening, and that campaign initiators should establish formal referral links with health facilities so that screened students can readily access vaccination or clinical care.