Residents' Assessment of Media Role in Environmental Health Education in Onitsha Urban, Anambra State, Nigeria
Nwankwo,Ignatius Uche
Citation :Nwankwo,Ignatius Uche, Residents' Assessment of Media Role in Environmental Health Education in Onitsha Urban, Anambra State, Nigeria International Journal of Media, Journalism and Mass Communications 2017,3(3) : 27-35
This empirical study examined residents' assessment of media role in environmental health education in Onitsha Urban, a metropolitan area with rapidly growing population. One hundred and ninety five respondents were selected for the study through a combination of multi-stage and simple random sampling processes. Seven research questions and one hypothesis were formulated. Questionnaire and in-depth interview complemented each other as instruments for data collection. The study found that residents considered refuse accumulation as the major environmental health challenge encountered in the area. Respondents also assessed the level of environmental health education or awareness in the area as very low, as the media played very minimal role in that regards. Chi-square test of the hypothesis showed that education has significant relationship with perception of environmental health problems where those with low education are less bothered and unlikely to take proactive actions to salvage the situation. On the other hand, logistic regression analysis predicted that older respondents are more likely to be positively disposed to their environmental health responsibilities than younger ones. It was recommended that public enlightenment on environmental health be strengthened through the media, to prevent further decay of the environment at Onitsha Urban, Anambra state, Nigeria.