A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF MEDIA IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE SPREAD OF CORONA VIRUS DISEASE
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- NGN 3000
Background to the study
The Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria is part of the worldwide plague of coronavirus illness 2019 caused by SARS coronavirus (SARS Covid-19). Coronavirus was found for the first time in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified coronavirus as an epidemic at first, but due to its worldwide expansion and lethality, WHO elevated the virus to a pandemic in 2020. On the African continent, almost 200,000 COVID 19 cases have been verified, with over 5,600 deaths. As of July 26, there were 16,432,110 coronavirus cases worldwide, with 10,056,554 recoveries and 652,437 fatalities (worldometers.info 2021). Coronavirus has created significant alarm and concern. COVID-19 also altered the way viewers look for information in the twenty-first century. The WHO labeled the coronavirus epidemic a Global Public Health Emergency on January 30. (Quattrin, Filiputt, and Brusaferro 2015).
The coronavirus was first detected in Nigeria on February 27, 2020, when an Italian resident in Lagos state tested positive for the virus. The second incidence was recorded in Ewekoro, Ogun state, on March 9, 2020, through contact tracing of a Nigerian person who had communication with the Italian citizen. The first coronavirus incidence in Akwa Ibom state was reported in April 2020, with another case reported in May 2020, when a member of the Government House Press Corps apparently tested positive for the dangerous Covid-19 illness (http:///allafrica.com). According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the overall number of confirmed cases in Nigeria as of July 25th, 2020 is 40,532, with 17,374 people recovering and 858 people declared deceased. According to the NCDC, the overall number of confirmed cases in Akwa Ibom state as of July 25, 2020 is 208, with 121 people believed to be recovered and 7 people declared deceased. (wikipedia.com).
Daily global updates on coronavirus pandemic information are extremely popular, being aired on radio stations, scrolled on television screens, and shared on social media. Furthermore, with the deregulation of Nigeria's telecommunications sector, which resulted in over 139 million active mobile phone users and an installed capacity of over 180 million lines (Monye, 2015), Nigerians' media reliance level expanded dramatically during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The media plays an important role in conveying health promotion. According to Asogba (2019), citing Quattrin, Filliputt, and Brusaferro (2015), public health programs that employ mass media to promote beneficial health behaviors may benefit.
Interestingly, when Akarika (2019) proposed the Media System Dependency theory, they had no knowledge of the growth of social media. The main premise of the Media System Dependency hypothesis is that in times of crisis or uncertainty, people would rely on the media to receive information in order to alleviate uncertainty and anxiety. More specifically, during health emergency scenarios, such as the coronavirus pandemic, the more individuals rely on the media to meet their health demands, the more essential the role that the media will play in such people's lives, resulting in more media influence on such people. As a result, this study looks into the use of mass media and social media in the fight against the spread of Corona Virus disease.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The disease primarily affects the respiratory system with symptoms ranging from fever, cough, and mild shortness of breath, to severe desaturation, causing respiratory failure. Despite the lung damage in the form of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), there are reports of the novel virus creating a thromboembolic condition in the body and hence causing myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism. It can also result in kidney failure in several patients. Modes of spread range from droplets, airborne, or feco-oral to contact spread. There is news of viruses staying viable on surfaces from a few hours to many days. This heterogeneous spectrum of disease is concerning and one of the reasons for the increased fatality of the disease.
These aspects create a public worry and force the general public to seek help from the most accessible ways available to them. For most people, it’s either the internet or media, which includes print, as well as broadcast options. The internet is considered a worldwide media. In an epidemic or pandemic, controlling the spread of disease is a basic requirement. It requires early recognition of symptomatology, prompt diagnostic measures, effective home and hospice management, and appropriate preventive steps. This in turn, requires the role of varying departments ranging from government to healthcare, to the media, to the general public itself. Whenever a new virus or bacterial disease emerges, it goes through localized transmission, amplification in the spread, and finally, the remission with successful measures. The controlling measures are taken at each step of the chain. They include anticipation about the likely widespread infection, early detection, effective containment, control and mitigation measures, and lastly, eradication. According to WHO, it involves the coordination of responders, proper health information system, and managing communication risks. Media plays a crucial role at each step. The method of news reporting modifies the behavior of people and their attitudes. This was studied in the H1N1 influenza epidemic in the Shaanxi province of China in 2009. In a study published in 2016, Yan Q. et al. showed how people’s response can change with media reports and, hence, can affect emerging disease control. Media reports of the disease spread during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 raised fear and awareness among people. On the one hand, it helped people to adopt essential protective measures. On the other hand, some people started stigmatizing diseased persons from inappropriate articles published in some newspapers. This is an example that indicates that the interaction between media awareness and disease control is a two-directional approach.
To study the media impact and disease dynamics, the media impact model was designed after the pandemic of SARS 2003-2004. This was inconclusive of the overall positive or negative impact of media, thus prompting the need to expand the model and studying its effects. In the MERS outbreak in 2012, again, the media played its role. With advancements in technology and an increase in the accessibility of the internet to the common man, public awareness increased manifold, thus urging better adherence to essential public health measures. The role of social media in the MERS epidemic in 2012 and the H7N9 epidemic in China was studied, showing a stronger reaction in the H7N9 epidemic. It further delineates the importance of the topic of discussion. This study will investigates the Use Of Mass Media and Social Media in the Campaign against the Spread Of Corona Virus Disease.
1.3 Objective of the study
The main objective of the study is to critically examine the Use Of Social Media and Mass Media in the Campaign against the Spread Of Corona Virus Disease. Specifically, the study aims to:
1. Determine the extent to which Uyo residents depended on the media for information during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
2. Identify the most preferred media for information during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
3. Determine Uyo residents perception of the role of each media in information dissemination during the covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
1.4 Research question
The following research questions were formulated in order to achieve the research objective:
1. What is the extent to which Uyo residents depended on the media for information during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
2. What is the most preferred media for information during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
3. What is the Uyo residents perception of the role of each media in information dissemination during the covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
1.5 Significance Of The Study
The study will enable relevant agencies concerned with eradicating coronavirus in Akwa-state and Nigeria in general to appraise the media framework for possible modification or modernization. The study will show the how media have covered the outbreak of the novel virus. The study exposes the rural people’s perception of the use of media as an institution concerned with people’s welfare and from there highlight the potency of the media as instrument of mass education and mobilization for public policy implication in the state.
1.6 Scope/Limitation of the study
The study on the critical examination of the Use Of Social Media and Mass Media in the Campaign against the Spread Of Corona Virus Disease was carried out in Uyo the state capital of Akwa-Ibom state, in south-south Nigeria. It will cover the whole of Uyo metropolis. Uyo metropolis was divided into six clusters, Abak road, Ikot Ekpene road, Nwaniba road, Oron road, Aka road and Wellington Bassey Way.
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