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Mass Media And Promotion Of The Benefit Of Exclusive Breastfeeding
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ABSTRACT
Media campaigns are often used to achieve audience mobilization and participation in the process of development. Often times, however, it fails to achieve the purpose for which it was designed owning to many factors. It is pertinent to ensure that such development communications are properly planned and designed so as to meet the target group and achieve the set objectives. This study examined the media campaigns on exclusive breastfeeding in Uyo local government area while analyzing the perceptions of women regarding the campaigns and the various media used in the exercise, it identified the various constraints in the utilization of the media to reach the envisioned audience. Anchored on the innovation diffusion theory, this survey research employed questionnaire as the major instrument of data collection. The data collected was presented in simple tables and percentages. The findings of this research findings include; interpersonal communication is the most effective mode of communication in communicating the exclusive breastfeeding campaigns, the campaigns do run in adequate volumes to effect behavioral change among these women, majority of the women reserve their predisposition towards exclusive breast-feeding in spite the campaigns and that they have challenges using the media through which they receive information on exclusive breast-feeding .Recommendations made at the end of this research work will help to enhance the planning and designing of the media campaigns in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
Effective communication enhances sustainable development. Many researches carried out support that communication and development are so closely related that there cannot be development without communication. In a developing country like Nigeria, strategies, plans and policies on developmental projects can only be effective and the desired results produced, if the project is properly communicated.
This indicates that it is important to properly articulate the development projects through planning and formulating strategies on how to actually implement the objectives of the development projects to achieve results. On the other hand and equally important is the communication regarding the development project. It must be properly communicated in order for people to see the need, the strategies and the desired result in view. This is what is known as development communication.
Development communication as defined by (Nwabueze, 2008:18) “is a conscious effort by a sender to package messages aimed at persuading, encouraging and convincing the receiver to adopt and participate in actualizing the development planâ€. Development communication is used to bring about behavioural change towards the desired development in a particular society. These communication processes are often done through mass media campaigns and advocacy advertising.
Advocacy advertising champions preventive action against conditions affecting the public welfare (Ukonu, 2004:83). In development process, advocacy is concerned with producing information and knowledge for decision makers within the environment where the development is required to facilitate their ability to make informed decisions regarding the project or innovation.
It is not enough to just air these campaigns, it must be properly planned to meet the aim for its production. It entails properly researching the people who the development communication is targeted at, to ensure that the appropriate channel is used, the appropriate language and the message itself packaged to suit the people. This will in turn encourage their appreciating the development process and their participation in it. According to (Okunna, 2000:298), “development should be a participatory process whose success therefore ultimately depends on the involvement of the people in whatever project is being carried outâ€
There have been many of such campaigns for developmental processes in Nigeria, but whether these campaigns meet the desired objectives is a question that is yet to be clearly answered. As (Ekwelie, 1999: 6) opines:
We have proof that development and communication can be complimentary. We know that communication may fail to generate development, but after making all the allowances for accidents in nature and society, we are still left with a paradigm that links communication with development
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 4]
Page 1 of 4
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Media campaigns are often used to achieve audience mobilization and participation in the process of development. Often times, however, it fails to achieve the purpose for which it was designed owning to many factors. It is pertinent to ensure that such development communications are properly planned and designed so as to meet the target group and achieve the set objectives. This study examined the media campaigns on exclusive breastfeeding in Uyo local government area while analyzing the percept ... Continue reading---
