Exposure to mass media malaria messages and use of insecticide-treated nets and artemisinin combination therapy among Southeast Nigeria residents

Background: Malaria remains endemic in Nigeria. The National Malaria Elimination Programmeutilizes the mass media to educate Nigerians to adopt insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) for malaria prevention and treatment respectively. This study investigated the influence of media messages on ITN and ACT use in Southeast Nigeria.Methods: Data was collected with a structured questionnaire from 480 respondents across 15 communities in Southeast Nigeria. Analysis was carried out on the data using percentages and logistic regression.Results: Results indicated high exposure to malaria messages, but limited effect on ITN and ACT use. Regression results showed that exposure to newspapers (OR=1.017); magazines (OR=1.639) and internet (OR=1.444) increased the odds of ITN use. Exposure to television messages(OR=1.707;P<0.001);billboards(OR=2.098;P<0.011);Internet(OR=1.805;P<0.011) and tertiary education(OR=8.454;p<0.000) positively predicted ACT use.Conclusions: Exposure to malaria messages has not resulted in population-wide adoption of ITNs and ACT. There is need for the National Malaria Elimination Programme to address factors that hinder ITN and ACT use

The effects of mass media messages, perceived susceptibility and self-rated health on public attitude towards COVID-19 in South Africa

Nwachukwu CA, Ajaero C, Ajaero ID. The effects of mass media messages, perceived susceptibility and self-rated health on public attitude towards COVID-19 in South Africa. BMC Public Health . 2024;24(1): 2951.OBJECTIVES: South Africa was the worst affected country in Africa by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is important to interrogate the attitude of the populace towards the pandemic for future interventions. Therefore, this study examined effects of mass media messages, susceptibility to COVID-19 and self-rated health on the attitudes of South Africans towards the COVID-19 pandemic.; METHODS: Data was from the National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) of 2021 which is a nationally representative panel survey of about 7,000 South African individuals in all the nine provinces. Analyses of data were through descriptive statistics, chi square test and logistic regression models.; RESULTS: The results showed that 61.28% of the resondents did not take COVID-19 test while 91.09% of them engaged in behavioral changes such as social distancing and wearing of face masks. In addition, 74.27% of the respondents had access to mass media information, 70.44% believed they have good physical health while 32.43% felt they were not susceptible to COVID-19. The chi-square results of attitude towards COVID-19 showed significant differences in access to mass media messages on COVID-19, race, and province of residence. Furthermore, respondents who had access to mass media information on COVID-19 (OR=1.469; p=0.001) and respondents who believed that they were susceptible to COVID-19 infection (OR=1.443; p=0.001) were significantly associated with increased likelihood of engagement in behavioral changes to avoid the COVID-19.; CONCLUSION: These findings therefore emphasize the need for increased awareness and sensitization of the people about the susceptibility and adverse effects of diseases to ensure that they adopt the appropriate attitudes that will safeguard them from such diseases outbreak. © 2024. The Author(s)

Evaluation of Doctor-patient communication outcomes in two public hospitals in Enugu and Ebonyi States, Nigeria

Background: Patient-doctor communication is a critical success factor in ensuring accurate diagnosis and treatment. A patient’s satisfaction with such interaction can have positive impact on health outcomes. This study evaluated patient-doctor communication in two tertiary hospitals in two states in southeast Nigeria.Data Source & Methods: Data were collected with a structured questionnaire from 300 patients in two teaching hospitals. Data were analysed using simple percentages, chi-square test of independence, binary logistic regression and factor analysis.Results: Results indicated low level of satisfaction of patients with the quality of communication with their doctors, the main contributor to their dissatisfaction being ‘doctors’ authoritarian communication style’. Factors that positively predicted patients’ satisfaction were ‘doctors’ communication skills’ (p=.000), ‘patients’ religious, cultural and language anxiety influence on communication’ (p=.000), and ‘democratic communication’ (p=.009). Doctors adopted the paternalistic approach in interacting with patients.Conclusion: Patients reported low level of satisfaction with their doctors’ communicative behaviour. This would necessitate a shift from the paternalistic to the patient-centred communication approach in the two hospitals

Access to mass media messages, and use of family planning in Nigeria: a spatio-demographic analysis from the 2013 DHS

Abstract Background Nigeria has the highest population in sub-Saharan Africa with high birth and growth rates. There is therefore need for family planning to regulate and stabilize this population. This study examined the relationship between access to mass media messages on family planning and use of family planning in Nigeria. It also investigated the impacts of spatio-demographic variables on the relationship between access to mass media messages and use of family planning. Methods Data from the 2013 demographic and health survey of Nigeria which was conducted in all the 36 states of Nigeria, and Abuja were used for the study. The sample was weighted to ensure representativeness. Univariate, bivariate and binary logistic regressions were conducted. The relationship between each of the access to mass media messages, and the family planning variables were determined with Pearson correlation analysis. Results The correlation results showed significant but weak direct relationships between the access to mass media messages and use of family planning at p < 0.0001 with access to television messages (r = 0.239) being associated with highest use of family planning. Some of the results of the adjusted regression analysis showed that access to television messages (OR = 1.2.225; p < 0.0001), and radio messages (OR = 1.945; p < 0.0001) increase the likelihood of the use of family planning. The adjusted regression model also indicated increased likelihood in the use of family planning by respondents with secondary education (OR = 2.709; p < 0.0001), the married (OR = 1.274; p < 0.001), and respondents within the highest wealth quintiles (OR = 3.442; p < 0.0001). Conclusions There exist significant variations within spatio-demographic groups with regards to having access to mass media messages on family planning, and on the use of family planning. The results showed that access to mass media messages increases the likelihood of the use of family planning. Also people with higher socioeconomic status and those from the Southern part of the country make more use of family planning. There is need to improve the socioeconomic status of the populations. Also, the quality and regularity of mass media messages should be improved, while other communication avenues such as traditional institutions, blogs, and seminars for youths should be used to make family planning messages more acceptable