Previous studies on the impact of Internet-powered media on health promotion have often neglected the relationship between message recall and health behaviour. Such neglect makes it look as though exposure to media messages automatically leads to recall. Also, other studies appear to have paid less attention to understanding if the perception of the existence or otherwise of a public health issue actually influences the effectiveness of health intervention. In the current study, the authors suggest a model that takes into consideration these existing gaps. They examined 470 social media users who were exposed to YouTube animated cartoons on COVID-19 using an example from a developing country. The authors found, among others, that perception concerning the realness of COVID-19 was the greatest contributing factor in predicting the effectiveness of YouTube animated cartoons on health behaviour. The scholarly theoretical and practical contributions of the findings are explored.

Awareness and knowledge have been identified as essential requirements to successfully combat the global threat which COVID-19 currently poses. Rural communities are particularly at risk because of their low socio-economic status and high illiteracy level. There is currently uncertainty regarding how to effectively raise awareness about the pandemic and educate rural communities about it. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of interpersonal communication in awareness creation and knowledge about COVID-19 among rural communities in a developing country. We tested three hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The sample size was made up 470 participants. The questionnaire served as the instrument for data collection. In the analysis of data, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The results demonstrate that interpersonal communication is effective in creating awareness about COVID-19 among rural communities. It was also found that interpersonal communication was effective in improving knowledge about the pandemic among rural communications. We explored the implications of these findings on healthcare delivery.

Previous studies on media coverage of health issues hardly recognize the role of time in moderating media contents. Instead, scholars most often examine how news media report health issues. In this study, we recognized the role of time by taking into account how media report differs based on when a global outbreak is confirmed in a country and when it is not. We focused on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and examined six media—two TV stations, two newspapers and two radio stations. We content-analysed 537 stories and found that there were few stories about the virus before it was confirmed in Nigeria. But as soon as Nigeria recorded a confirmed case, the number of stories tripled. We also noticed that story format and recommendation on health behaviour were also closely linked to the COVID-19 status of Nigeria. However, we did not find an association between Nigeria’s COVID-19 status and policy recommendation among the media studied. Therefore, this study concludes that Nigerian media did not provide sufficient health warning messages on COVID-19 before its spread to the country.

Previous studies on the effect of cartoon hardly consider the moderating role of colour. Additionally, studies on the use of social media for health promotion pay less attention to sustainability of health behaviour. In this study, we examined the moderating role of colour on the effectiveness of COVID-19 YouTube animated cartoons on health behaviour of social media users in Nigeria. We survey a total of 470 social media users in Nigeria who reported exposure to YouTube COVID-19 animated cartoons. It was found that colour significantly predict recall of YouTube animated cartoons on COVID-19. In addition, the result of the study revealed that colour significantly moderate impact ofCOVID-19 YouTube animated cartoons on health behaviour of social media users. The result further showed that exposure to COVID-19 YouTube animated cartoons will significantly predict knowledge of the virus. The result also showed that recall of messages theme in COVID-19 YouTube animated cartoons significantly predicts health behaviour of social media users. Finally, the result of the study showed that self-efficacy, task self-efficacy, coping self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy significantly predict health behaviour sustainability among social media users who are exposed to COVID-19 YouTube animated cartoon. We highlighted the implications of these results on health promotions.

This study investigates newspaper coverage of the conflict between farmers and herdsmen in central Tiv land, Benue State, Nigeria, with specific emphasis on text format, frequency, prominence, depth of coverage, language of reports and audience assessment of this coverage. Two newspapers – Daily Sun and Daily Trust – were selected for the study which covers a period of 12 months. Content analysis and survey were adopted for the study with email and telephone interviews as instruments for the survey. Results showed, among others, that the text format for both newspapers was mostly straight news (64.5%). Findings further showed that the newspapers only covered the conflict as it happened but little attention was paid to victims of the conflict in newspapers reportage. The result of the study also showed that 71.3 percent of the stories on the conflict were published on the inside page. It is recommended that Nigerian newspapers should refrain from episodic reportage and set a proper agenda for the Nigeria public on conflicts. Further studies are also recommended to include more newspapers in the sample.