Abstract

Media plays a crucial role in disseminating health information and increasing awareness about health education. Hence, the need to assess the media use for malaria information dissemination among rural dwellers in Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 125 rural dwellers, data on sources of malaria information, media use, preferred media, and challenges of media use for malaria information was collected via questionnaire. Data were analysed using both descriptive (tables, graphs) and inferential statistical (PPMC) tools. The result shows that the mean age, household size, and monthly income of the respondents were 41 years, 6 persons, and N38,000 respectively. The majority (52.4%) were female, Christians (59.5%), and educated (88.1%). A high percentage (78.6%) of the respondents sourced malaria information through radio while 89.7% preferred receiving malaria information through radio. Respondents were faced with challenges of a network failure (85.7%), lack of power supply (85.7%), and financial constraints for purchase of media tools (85.7%) used in accessing malaria information respectively. The study concluded that respondent highly utilized media for malaria information in the study area. It is therefore recommended that the government should provide infrastructural facilities such as stable power supply, good communication network and means of financial empowerment among rural people.

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