Assessing the Impact of Social Networks on Mothers' Childhood Immunization Decisions in Bungudu Local Government Area, Zamfara State, Northern Nigeria

Allison Goldberg, Columbia University

A significant body of research suggests that social networks influence health. However, to my knowledge, no research has assessed the impact of social networks on immunization use. This study draws on opinion leadership theory and social networks theory in order to explain the variance in childhood immunization coverage rates in Zamfara State, northern Nigeria. This study employs a social networks design using quantitative data collected from 550 mothers and 128 of their opinion leaders living across 22 paired villages in one LGA. The expected outcomes of the study are: 1) mothers with a greater number of peers that support immunizations will have a higher likelihood of immunizing their child; 2) mothers with a greater number of opinion leaders that support immunizations will have a higher likelihood of immunizing their child; 3) the relationship between opinion leader support for immunizations and immunization use will increase when mothers' peers also support immunizations.