Role of Media in Spreading Awareness of Viral Hepatitis Among the Youth: A Study with Special Reference to Lucknow City, Uttar Pradesh. India.

Abstract: 

Abstract:

Mass media is a very effective and efficient source of information to general public on a wide array of subject. Every day, a lots of health related issues are also disseminated through mass media which passes through various steps before it reaches the people. Current study was conducted to explore awareness level of viral hepatitis among the youth which is one of the International Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs).

Uttar Pradesh, the north Indian state would be the one of the most discussed state among the Indian states in the social science domain of the country because of its peculiarities in many fields such as social reforms, politics, education, health, governance and so on. Media in Uttar Pradesh also has a unique position among the media in the country, mainly because of its huge circulation and readership as well as its multiple roles in the society. Throughout the twentieth century,

This study investigated the role of media in spreading awareness of viral hepatitis among the youth of India. Survey method was adopted using the convenience sampling technique. The population of study is 7844 which consist of students studying in Ambedkar central university and Lucknow state university living in city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. A sample size of 400 arrived at with the use of Taro Yammne formula. A well-constructed questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. 381 retrieved questionnaire were analysed using frequency and simple percentage table, and 5 point likert scale. Findings reveals that 53.3% of the respondents have the knowledge of Hepatitis, 62% of respondents are aware of hepatitis through different media, and acquired the knowledge from Health workers, one-to-one communication, television etc. The study further showed that many of the respondents believe that the awareness on hepatitis is low and preferred medium for the awareness are social media, radio, television, banners, door-to-door and others. The study thereby recommended that the government should sponsor different media awareness campaign geared towards the prevention of the transmission of “Hepatitis Virus” and the use of vaccine as a major alternative for prevention.