*CHIDIEBERE ALOZIE. NWACHUKWU, Ph.D & ** IJEOMA DORATHY AJAERO, Ph.D

Abstract

The success of the National Malaria Elimination Programme’s on-going campaign against malaria partly depends on the rural communities since malaria is largely known as a rural disease in addition to the fact that majority of the Nigerian population resides in the rural areas. The National Malaria Elimination Programme in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s recommendation promotes the use of Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and uses behaviour change communication extensively to persuade Nigerians to use ACTs in malaria treatment due to their proven efficacy. This study examined how exposure to behaviour change communication has influenced rural residents of three Southeast Nigeria states on the use of ACTs for malaria treatment. The study, using the survey research design, sampled 385 respondents and was anchored on the Health Belief Model. It was found that though exposure to behaviour change communication was high, there was low use of ACTs among the respondents. Higher education (p=0.000); receiving malaria information from healthcare providers (p=0.000) and radio (p=0.000) positively predicted ACT use.

Key Words:  Exposure, Behaviour Change, Communication, Rural Areas, Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, October 2020, pp. 32-41

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

About the authors

*      Chidiebere Alozie Nwachukwu, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His research interests span health and population communication, conflict reporting, communication and media studies.

**    Ijeoma Dorathy Ajaero, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She does research in social media, environmental and health communication, and media sociology.

Full Article

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Article Citation

Nwachukwu, C. A. & Ajaero, I. D. (2020). Exposure to behaviour change communication on the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy among rural dwellers in three selected states in Southeast Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 12 (2): 32 – 41.