Awareness, perceptions and willingness to accept malaria vaccine for children under age 5 among mothers in Northcentral Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Objective This study aimed to assess mothers' awareness, perceptions and willingness to accept malaria vaccines for their children under 5 years old in a city in Northcentral Nigeria.Design The research employed a hospital-based cross-sectional observational study design to gather and analyse relevant data.Setting The study was conducted at the immunisation clinic of a tertiary health centre in Northcentral Nigeria.Participants A total of 376 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) participated in the study. All participants resided in the study area and had children aged 0-5 years.Main outcome measures The study evaluated mothers' awareness of the malaria vaccine, their perceptions about its use and their willingness to vaccinate their children under 5 years of age.Results Awareness of the malaria vaccine was low, with only 89 mothers (23.7%) reporting prior knowledge of it. Despite this, an overwhelming 366 participants (97.3%) expressed willingness to vaccinate their children and 352 (93.6%) were willing to pay for the vaccine. Concerns about injection site reactions, fever and pain were common, with 126 mothers (33.6%) preferring an oral vaccine. Positive perception significantly influenced willingness to vaccinate (chi(2)=5.987, p=0.014). Additionally, age, marital status, educational level and income were significantly associated with willingness to vaccinate (p=0.002, 0.025, 0.015, 0.026, respectively). At the multivariate level, younger maternal age (OR=1.179, p=0.011) and higher income (OR=1.040, p=0.049) emerged as direct predictors of vaccine acceptance.Conclusions While awareness of malaria vaccines among mothers was limited, there was a strong willingness to vaccinate, influenced by positive perceptions, younger maternal age and higher income. The findings highlight the importance of targeted educational campaigns to improve awareness and acceptance of malaria vaccines. Future studies should explore interventions to enhance vaccine acceptance and address potential barriers to vaccine awareness.