Are the Mothers of Hospitalized Socially Disadvantaged Children worse Care Givers than those of Non-disadvantaged Children?

The level of general hygiene, duration of breastfeeding and number of doses of scheduled immunizations received by 207 socially disadvantaged and 237 non-disadvantaged controls, mostly under five-year old children, admitted to the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, over a six-month period, were studied through physical inspection and administration of questionnaire. Compared with controls, higher percentages of disadvantaged children received none or incomplete doses of scheduled vaccinations (p