CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Specific communication criteria must be met in order for civilization to continue to exist. According to S. Baran and D. Davis (2012), these criteria existed long before Johann Gutenberg produced the printing press and Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph. However, there are times when the functions of mass communication are undesirable from a societal or individual perspective. Surveillance, interpretation, connection, value transfer, sociability, entertainment, and health information sharing are all services provided by broadcast media such as radio and television.
Radio is an audio medium for communicating with a large audience. Radio is a way of sending messages using electrical waves. Sound can be sent and received through these waves, to put it another way (Adelana, O.2020). Ajibade, O., and Alabi, S. (2017) define radio as “the process of transmitting and receiving communications over the air using electromagnetic waves.” It can also refer to the act of broadcasting programs in order for people to listen to them. According to Ajibade, O. et’al, radio is one of the most important mediums of communication (2017). Radio allows people to transmit spoken words, music, and other communication signals to any area on the globe. Music, news, chat, interviews, and descriptions of sporting events.
Radio broadcasts now incorporate commercials as well. On their way to work and during their free time, people listen to their automobile radios to listen to their favorite programs on the radio. The news is broadcast on radio in a variety of formats. Apart from broadcasting, radio is utilized by airline pilots, astronauts, construction workers, cops, sailors, and others who work in a number of fields, including health communication.
The study and practice of disseminating promotional health information, such as through public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient, is known as health communication (Dutta-Bergman, M. 2004). Sharing health information has the purpose of improving health literacy and hence influencing personal health decisions.
Health communication is the act of broadcasting and disseminating information about health issues to the general public via radio. Radio broadcasting is the most cost-effective and easiest way to communicate information and reach an audience, and it has a broader audience than television because it can reach people at home, at work, and in their cars. Since it used to broadcast a range of programming, the public can listen to the primetime hour of radio at any time. Radio is an excellent medium for disseminating health information since it reaches a large audience and is cost-effective.
Radio has been used to educate listeners about health issues by health practitioners who have recognized the benefits of using it to broadcast health messages. Producing and airing this variety of programming is critical for people who are exposed to health messages because “serendipitous learning via radio can serve as a primary mode of health information collection” (Dutta-Bergman, 2004). Radio has a significant impact on people’s lives because it can reach them quickly. Because the radio broadcast’s prime time hour is also handy for listeners, it may be a huge success for the radio broadcast and has the ability to influence individual behavior in health-related topics.
Statement of the problem
Health communicators, educators, and advocates have been researching and using social media and other kinds of mass media in order to effectively communicate health messages to the general public. A recent study found how consumers actually interact with health information, as well as how they like to connect with it. One of the most important objectives of public health is to effectively communicate health information to individuals and communities. Communication that is timely and accurate can help individuals, groups, and civilizations alike. Effective health communication can influence people’s awareness, knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, capacities, and commitment to behavior change (Nguyen & Bellamy, 2006).
When developing health education campaigns, health educators and professionals commonly employ a variety of strategies to bridge the gap between actual and desired methods of obtaining critical health information. Health education campaigns usually involve television advertising, Internet programs, radio broadcasts, and public service announcements in addition to face-to-face programming.
However In the last decade, new technologies have emerged, leaving radio underutilized in the domain of health education and promotion. Despite the fact that radio announcements and programs are still commonly utilized in health education campaigns, health communication practitioners and academics are increasingly focused on the expanding availability of health information on the Internet. With technological advancements, little research has recently been done on the utility of a community-based health education radio broadcast.
Objective of the study
The overall goal of this research is to look into the public’s opinion of health-related radio broadcasts. The study’s objectives were to:
1. Compare people’s real and preferred means of receiving health information.
2. Determine the extent to which health messages are carried over the radio.
3. Determine if using the radio to raise health information and intentions to change health behavior is an effective technique.
4. Look into the aspects that influence a person’s choice of radio for health information.
Research Questions
The following research question guides the investigation:
1. What are the most common and preferable methods of receiving health information?
2. What is the extent to which radio broadcasts are used to transmit health messages?
3. Is radio an useful tool for increasing health awareness and intentions to alter behavior?
4. What factors influence an individual’s preference for radio as a source of health information?
Significance of the study
The study’s findings would be both empirical and practical in nature. In practice, it will help to articulate the role of radio broadcasts in providing healthcare information and developing community audiences’ health beliefs. In practice, the report will serve as a document for government and non-governmental groups, policymakers, and healthcare professionals on the importance of regulating the trustworthiness of health information delivered on radio broadcasts. Furthermore, the study’s findings will be used as a data base for mass communication academics who are interested in learning more about the global healthcare information crisis. The study will serve as a reference material for academics and students interested in conducting future research in a connected topic.
Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is limited to the public’s impression of health-related radio broadcasts. The research will compare people’s real and preferred means of receiving health information. It will determine the extent to which health messages are carried on the radio. It will determine if using the radio to raise health knowledge and intentions to change health behavior is an effective technique. It will look into the elements that influence a person’s choice of radio as a source of health information. However, the study is limited to Onitsha residents in Anambra State.
Limitation of the study
Like all human attempts, this research project faced obstacles that threatened to derail the study’s completion. One of the causes is that the time given for this activity was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to completely accomplish the task. The researcher had to work extra hard during data collection to grasp the respondents’ interview schedules, as several of them were in the unintelligible age bracket. There were also financial and transportation issues to contend with. Inadequate funding tend to limit the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant resources, literature, or information, as well as in the data gathering procedure (internet, questionnaire, interview).
Definition of terms
Radio: A radio is an audio device used to communicate with a big audience. The process of transmitting messages via electrical waves is known as radio.
Health behaviors are actions that people conduct that have an impact on their health. They include behaviors that promote health, such as eating healthily and staying active, as well as behaviors that raise disease risk, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and dangerous sexual conduct.
Health Communication: The study and practice of transmitting promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient, is known as health communication. The goal of sharing health information is to improve health literacy and hence affect personal health decisions.
REFERENCE
2020 (2020) Nigeria, Radio Dramas are prepared to Burst Myths about COVID-19, Adelana, O. https://www.wsscc.org/media/resources/nigeria-radio-dramas-are-debunking-myths-around-covid-19
Community Radio in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges, Covenant Journal of Communication 4 (1) 26-38, Ajibade, O., and Alabi, S.
Akingbulu, A. Akingbulu, A. Akingbulu, A. (2017). Issues and problems in establishing community radio in Nigeria. Imeso and PIWA are two organizations in Lagos.
S.J. Baran and D.K. Davis (2012). Foundations, Ferment, and the Future of Mass Communication Theory (6th edition). Cengage Learning, Wadsworth.
C. Cowan and R. Hoskins, R. Hoskins, R. Hoskins, R. Hoskins, R. Hoskins (2007). Women taking chemotherapy for breast cancer have different information preferences. 543–550 in European Journal of Cancer Care, 16(6).
S. Durkin and M. Wakefield (2009). Responses to anti-smoking advertising on the radio and television to urge smoking cessation. 5–13 in Health Promotion International, vol. 25, no. 1.
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