Article Sidebar
Published:
Aug 8, 2024Keywords:
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
(i) AJER is an open-access journal. This means that all content is freely available to all. The author retains the copyrights associated with their work within AJER’s policy framework.
(ii) All articles can be accessed freely without any limitations of use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium so long as they are expressly cited.
(iii) The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, may not mean that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations in their respective countries.
(iv) The publisher believes that all information is true and accurate at the time of going to press. In this regard, the authors, editors, and publishers cannot accept any legal responsibility for any errors, typos or omissions that may be made. There is thus no warranty for the materials contained in the articles.
Main Article Content
Influence of Mass Media Messages on Audience Perception Regarding Patient Rights Among the Residents of Mt. Elgon, Bungoma County, Kenya
Felister Nyaera Nkangi
Lydia Anyonje
Egara Kabaji
Abstract
Mass media plays a critical role in shaping people’s perceptions of all societal issues. This is achieved through mass media content and various channels employed in disseminating information to its audience. Based on this key impact and dominance that the media is perceived to enjoy over its audience, a mixed-method study adopting an exploratory sequential design was conducted in the Mt. Elgon sub-county of Bungoma County, Kenya. The study aimed to establish the perception created by mass media messages on patient rights among the targeted community. Many studies have focused on patients’ rights from the policy and public health perspectives and not from communication through the mass media angle. The agenda-setting theory of the mass media and the diffusion of innovation theory guided the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed descriptively and thematically respectively. Data was collected from adult residents of Kaptama and Chemoge sub-locations. Out of the 13104 residents of the two sub locations, a sample of 130 adult residents were randomly selected to participate in the study. Additionally, 8 key informants including 2 policy experts, and 6 health journalists drawn from leading media houses in Kenya were also involved. Data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire, interview guides (one for policy experts and another for media practitioners), and focus group discussion schedule. Trustworthiness was applied in validating qualitative data while quantitative data was validated through Cronbach Alpha Co-efficient calculations. The study established that the mass media messages on patient rights are too general focusing on sporadic happenings and not on patient rights in particular. Thus, the messages disseminated on the topic, have not been able to shift the mindset of the study respondents who registered pessimism towards the potential of mass media messages to shape favourable perceptions of patient rights. Journalists need to single out messages on patient rights from general reportage increasing their visibility to attain the desired perception from the media audience.
