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THE
INFLUENCE OF FUNCTIONAL LITERACY ON WOMEN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PRACTICES
ABSTRACT
The study
assessed the influence of functional literacy on women reproductive health
practices in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State. The purpose
is to establish the link between educational status and improvement of the
girls and women reproductive health, to examine the girls’ and women’s
knowledge about their reproductive health, assess the content and adequacy of
female functional literacy for health projects in Lagos Mainland. And determine
if participant’s occupation would affect their performance in the female
functional literacy for health issues and to ascertain whether participants in
the female literacy for health issues have better control in their reproductive
life than when they were not. Five hypotheses were tested for the study. The
research design was survey in nature. The questionnaire was developed for data
collection. The total numbers of 150 respondents were selected through the
stratified random sampling method. Findings of this study reveal that there is
a significant impact of education status on reproductive health, Also
information and content of female functional literacy for health issues about
reproductive health yielded positive results.
Further, it was noted that participant’s occupation has significant
effect on performance and attendance to literacy programmes. The result also
indicates that there is a difference between the way the girls and women manage
their reproductive health when they participate in literacy programme than when
they do not .On the basis of this findings, these recommendations were
made: Literacy education for the girls
and women must be promoted. There is therefore need for federal, state and
local government to involve more women to participate in functional literacy for
health issues and other socio- economic matters, more awareness should be
intensified to acquaint women with what
constitute their reproductive health issues. Facilitators to female functional
literacy need to be aware of the principles of adult learning in order to
enhance the effectiveness of programme delivery, participants in literacy
programmes should be motivated to promote their interest, attitude and ability
to fully engage in the learning activities and finally, women should be
empowered financially for better performance in literacy programmes for health
and other related issues.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
According to
Anyanwu (1992), literacy education generally is seen as a part of the process,
by which ignorant or non-literate persons become aware of their personal
situation and learn to do something about improving it. In the process, it
becomes a means of achieving political, economic, social and cultural
upliftment and human rights. This will enable the people who acquire literacy
to play remarkable roles in making their world a better place to live in. As a concept, literacy has many dimensions
and its meaning varies according to context (Bakare, 2004). Literacy is now
seen more in terms of whatever is required for one to be functionally
competent, which may also involve the possession of certain basic skills. This
is the idea behind functional literacy.
A functionally literate person by UNESCO (1978) conception is one who is
able to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective
functioning of his group and community. In line with UNESCO’s definition,
Egenti (2005) sees functional literacy as that aspect of education which
enables an individual to perform his role in society. That is, it is an
exercise in literacy education which is integrated with development and one
which becomes, from its very nature a constituent part of a development plan.
Literacy, therefore, is an indispensable strategy for empowering the girls,
women and men. In essence, it is seen as a part of the way of improving a
better quality of life. This is because it has the potency to fight ignorance,
poverty, diseases, disillusionment and abandonment which are obstacles to self-
fulfillment of an individual.
It is
instructive to note that high levels of illiteracy among the girls and women
are closely linked to poor health status in the family (Udeani, 2004). This is
why the Federal Ministry of Health conferred with the World Health Organization
in 1987 to initiate the female functional literacy for health projects in Benue
and Niger States. Literacy and Numeracy Lessons were organized around several
health issues such as nutrition, child care, personal and environmental health,
reproductive health, combined with health improvement activities for mothers. The
development of primers in Tiv and Nupe languages were used to achieve the
project objectives of literacy, health and income generation as they were the
medium for three component messages. The remarkable improvement in the total
quality of life project participants in the two states gave the project
implementers at the Federal, State and Local Government levels the
encouragement and confidence to call for the national replication of the
project. The primers are now written in English and translated into three major
languages of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to make them more relevant to a wider
audience.
However, the
importance of functional literacy for girls and women reproductive health
control can not be underscored. Evidences abound in literature on handsome
rewards of functional literacy in promoting the girls and women reproductive
health practices. Udeani (2004) posits that literacy is a key factor
influencing women reproductive health. In other words, reproductive health
practices may depend on level of education. This is why Njelesani, E.K. the
World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Nigeria said, ‘Education
kills the disease of ignorance, superstitions, fear and poverty. In addition,
Egenti (2005), citing Malniguist (1970) notes that ‘if we want to conquer
poverty, hunger and disease in the world, we have to conquer illiteracy first.
It is the most serious handicap for economic, social, political and individual
development that we know’. There is therefore a strong case for suggesting that
functional literacy can provide the girls and women knowledge about their
sexuality, family planning, and other reproductive health issues.
In
literature, reproductive health implies a state of complete physical, mental
and social well- being / fitness and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its
functions and processes. Owanasonye (1999) posits that the reproductive life of
a woman starts from her age at menarche (age at which she starts menstruating).
At the onset, she must be made to acquaint herself with her reproductive health
through some mapped out education programme.
Most
undeniably, women in Nigeria, including Lagos Mainland reproductive health’s
affect and are affected by the broader context of their lives, including their
economic circumstances, education, employment, living conditions and family
environment, social and gender relationships, and the traditional and legal
structures within which they live. As
noted by Owanasonye (1999), sexual and reproductive behaviours are governed by
complex biological, cultural and psychosocial factors. Therefore, the attainment of reproductive
health is not limited to interventions by the health sector alone. According to
Wikipedia Contributors (2012), most reproductive health problems cannot be
significantly addressed in the absence of health services and medical knowledge
and skills. The status of girls and women in society, and how they are treated
or mistreated, is a crucial determinant of their reproductive health.
Educational opportunities for girls and women powerfully affect their status
and the control they have over their own lives and their health and fertility.
The empowerment of women is therefore an essential element for health.
Undeniably,
women bear by far the greatest burden of reproductive health problems. Women
are at risk of complications from pregnancy and childbirth; they also face
risks in preventing unwanted pregnancy, suffer the complications of unsafe
abortion, bear most of the burden of contraception, and are more exposed to
contracting, and suffering the complications of reproductive tract infections,
particularly sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Statistics show that among
women of reproductive age, 36% of all healthy years of life lost are due to
reproductive health problems such as unregulated fertility, maternal mortality
and morbidity and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. By contrast, the equivalent figure for men is
12 % (United Nations Population Network, 2012). Biological factors alone do not
explain women's disparate burden. Their social, economic and political
disadvantages have a detrimental impact on their reproductive health. Young
people of both sexes are also particularly vulnerable to reproductive health
problems because of a lack of information and access to services (
Ransome-Kuti, 2001). Given this situation, the study seeks to examine the
influence of functional literacy on women reproductive health practices in
Lagos Mainland Local Government Area where research study appears to be scanty
on the subject of study.
Statement of
the Problem
Girls and
women face health problems related to their reproductive role, inferior social
status, and lack of education and access to information. Consequently, they are
often poorly informed about their sexuality, and become vulnerable to such
problems as unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted
diseases. Although, the Federal Ministry
of Health conferred with the World Health Organisation in 1987 to initiate the
female functional literacy for health projects in Nigeria, yet statistics show
that 50 per cent of maternal deaths are young adult women due to illegal
abortions, abortion complication account for 72 per cent of all deaths among
young adult women under the age of 19 years. Report also indicates that some 8
million children around the world have lost their mothers to HIV/AIDs (Ransome
–Kuti, 2001). The fore going provide the basis for examining the influence of
functional literacy on women reproductive health practices and how this
functional literacy can help alleviate to problem of reproductive health behavior.
Purpose of
the Study
Generally,
the objective of the study is to examine the influence of functional literacy
on women reproductive health practices. However, this study will:
1. Establish the relationship between
educational status and improvement of the girls and women reproductive health.
2. Examine the girls’ and women’s knowledge
about their reproductive health.
3. Assess the content and adequacy of female
functional literacy for heath projects in Lagos Mainland.
4. Determine if participants’ occupation
would affect their performance in the female functional literacy for health
issues.
5. Ascertain whether participants in the
female functional literacy for health issues have better control in their
reproductive life than when they were not.
Research
Questions
The
following questions are raised to guide the study
1. Does educational status of the girls and
women have positive influence in promoting their reproductive life?
2. Do the girls and women have knowledge of
their reproductive health?
3. How relevant and effective is the female
functional literacy for health programmes in Lagos Mainland?
4. What influence does participants’
occupation have in their performance in female functional literacy for health
issues?
5. Will the girls and women who participate
in functional literacy for health issues have control in their sexual lives
than when they were not?
Research
Hypotheses
The null
hypotheses predicted and tested for the study are as follows:
1. The level of education of the girls and
women will not have significant positive effect in promoting their reproductive
health.
2. The
type of information available to the girls and women does not have significant
effect on their reproductive heath practices.
3. The content of the female functional
literacy for health programmes does not have significant positive effect in
promoting their sexuality.
4. Participants’ occupation does not have
significant effect on their level of performance in female functional literacy
for health programmes.
5. Participants in female functional literacy
for health will not be capable of having satisfying and safe sex.
Significance
of the Study
The study is
relevant in the true sense that it will promote the girls and women
reproductive health. It has identified the place of female functional literacy
for health issues and documents the present health improvement activities for
the girls and women in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area. The study will
help non- literate women population in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State
with the skills (cognitive and occupational) necessary for maintaining a safe
sex life. It will assist policy makers and instructors/ facilitators to have a
deeper insight into more practical methods of organizing female functional
literacy for health projects. It will help government at all levels to promote
literacy education whether for the child or adults because of its importance to
the recipients’ lives. This study will also be a good reference material for
the governments at all levels, more especially the Lagos State Government to
utilize in identifying and promoting reproductive health of youth, women and
men living in the state. The girls and women in the state will have to benefit
from the study because it will serve as a mechanism of promoting their
reproductive health. This study will further enhance participants’ capability
to acquire or increase their literacy skill of reading, writing and numeracy.
It will also add literature to the existing field of adult education.
Scope of the
Study
The interest
of this study is to assess the influence of functional literacy on women
reproductive health practices specifically in Lagos Mainland Local Government
Area. The study covers 150 girls and women who participated or are still
participating in functional literacy for health programmes. Also time and
material pose some constraints.
Operational
Definitions of Terms
The
following terms are operationally defined.
Literacy:
Ability to read, write in any language and to manipulate figures.
Functional
Literacy: Using the literacy skills for
ones’ occupation and environment.
Education:
Building a self conscious human being.
Adult
Education: Educational activities that are developed to meet the educational
needs of adults.
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