Socio - Cultural Factors And Incidence of Measles Among Children In Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Measles is one of die health problems that endanger the life of children in every community. It is a child hood disease in the developing countries especially in Africa and Nigeria in particular, and also a universal disease known to be one of the commonest infections of man. Knowledge of measles is quite pertinent in understanding the role of cultural beliefs in health issues among die people. In die traditional settings, measles attack is usually attributed to a variety of causes which had no link with the concept of virus. This was based on the assertion that exposure to health education and other factors make a difference in utilization of health facilities. Nursing mothers with few men in keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, were chosen for the study. Twenty households were selected from each of the ten electoral wards in die area using probability sampling technique (cluster and simple random). In all, a total of two hundred households were chosen for administration of questionnaires. The study relied on the Health Belief Model. Analysis and interpretation of data were done using simple tables, frequencies and simple percentages as well as Gamma at 0.05 alpha level to test and confirmed or otherwise of the hypothesis. Data revealed that traditional definition of concept of health is quite different from the western view. The people have their own conception of health and this play a significant role in their health behaviors, and this has implication for negotiation of health of children. The study, therefore, reiterate the need to integrate the peoples' beliefs, attitudes and behavioral practices into health promotion programmes.