Awareness Creation on Cervical Cancer Screening: A Study of Living Healthy Programme on FRCN Kaduna
ABSTRACT
The research was conducted to assess the radio programme: Living Healthy, and its roles in creating  awareness  on  Cervical  Cancer  and  screening  among  women  in  Kaduna  State. Though many researchers have resaearched on different aspects of Health Communication in relation to cervical cancer, there appears to be a paucity of awarness creation on cervical cancer  screening.  Four  specific  objectives  were  raised,  which  included  to  establish  the number of women who access the FRCN’s Living Healthy programme on radio; list women’s opinion on cervical cancer screening based on the messages from “Living Healthy”; establish the awareness created by the Living Healthy programme on Cervical Cancer; and list the opinion of women on the time allotted to the Living Healthy programme.The theoretical framework on the Health Beleive Model as well as the Diffsion of Innovation Theory were adopted for this study because they focused on behavioural responses of women concerning their health. Quantitative survey method was used to conduct the investigation. Data were collected through the use of questionnaire with three hundred and sixty copies distributed, out of which three hundred and twenty three were returned and found useful. Data were analyzed using Statistical Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings revealed that women  had  access  to  radio  and  were  more  conversant  with  breast  cancer  as  the  most common  female  related  cancer.  Some  of  them  expressed  fear  and  uncertainty  on  the procedure of the screening exercise and therefore, the need to educate women on the process of screening. It was also established that the time allotted for the Living Healthy programme was not satisfactory. Women agreed that the screening exercise was important and they were willing  to  submit  themselves.  The  weakness  of  Living  Healthy  revolves  around  the circulation and frequency of broadcast. Most of the respondents believe the programme lays more  emphasis  on  breast  cancer  among  the  female  related  cancers.  The  following recommendations were made from the findings: more jingles, advertisements and dramas should be slotted periodically to serve as a constant reminder on the need for cervical cancer screening;  women  should  engage  in  routine  checkups;  FRCN  should  identify the  most appropriate days and time for broadcast; there is the need for government to work with international health organizations to ensure availability and affordability of vaccines and finally, there is also the need for media to collaborate with the rural populace to analyze the content and presentation of information about the disease.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background to the Study
The relevance of information to all facets of human endeavour is unquantifiable. This is because possession  of  information  is  an  added  advantage  for  all  human  activities  especially  when organisations,individuals, and other groups need to communicate with one another hence, the axiom  “information  is  power”  (Moemeka,  1981).The  mass  media  created  opportunities  for human communication through exchange of ideas to the most isolated regions of the world, and have played a pivotal role in the fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Polio, (Global Media AIDS Initiative, 2004). Information, Education,and Communication (IEC) are very important especially when a health issue such as cervical cancer needs to be tackled and awareness created.
The populace were keen on getting every detail especially on issues concerning health because it is believed that “Health is Wealth”, and health is a very crucial aspect of development. People want to be informed, educated and carried along. The only source of getting such information was through the media. However, the media are seen as not living up to their responsibility of information dissemination. Media practitioners are also culprits in this regard as they had also failed to adequately provide the necessary informationto the populace in a timely and effective manner (Eze, 2009).
Media practitoners require adequate training especially on modern health campaign strategies on diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, polio etc. Due to this lacuna, the populace who needed this information often resorted to other measures such as patronising quacks to get cure for diseases afflicting them.However, it was pertinent to acknowledge the critical role some media, especially the radio, had played in the campaign for creating awareness about diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other such scourges (Moemeka,1981)
The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna had made efforts in this regard through   itsprogramme,   “Living   Healthy”   to   alleviate   the   suffering   of   the   afflicted. Moemeka(1986)  and  Eze(2009),  all  agreed  that  radio  is  an  indispensable  tool  for  fighting diseases and creating awareness for the sceptics and unreachable by other media. The radio programme “Living Healthy” had been in existence since 1962. “Living Healthy” is a weekly magazine programme that runs for 20 minutes (9.20am-9.40am) on Wednesdays, and discusses health issues, nutrition,and enviromental health issues. “Living Healthy” is a perfecet medium for women to be sensitized on the need for cervical cancer screening.
The whole essense of radio campaign is behaviour change. By combining its ability such as accessibility, affordability and its reach, the radio’s position is unassailable in this regard. Moemeka (1981) and UNESCO’s (1980) Macbride Report voted radio as the greatest medium of information,  education  and  communication.  Moemeka  (1981)  stated  that  “the  media  can accelerate the social transformation required for socio-economic development and therefore can speed  and  smoothen  the  arduous  task  of  mobilizing  human  resources  behind  the  Nations development effort”.Similarly, Development Media Theory advocates that the media could be used to facilitate the process of socio economic development of a country (Baran & Davis, 1995). The theory further holds that by supporting development efforts, the media could be an
aid to society at large. In other words, the media should be used to rally people around ideas that will  bring  positive  perceptions  on  the  infrastructure  and  institutions  in  aid  of  national development in modern societies. It was in this regard that the research set out to evaluate awareness creation on  Cervical Cancer screening in Kaduna State.
Numerous studies had shown that many women do not attend screening programs because they were not aware that they are prone to cervical cancer. For example, a study in Nigeria revealed that  only 15%  had  ever  heard  of  cervical  cancer  and  even  less  knew  about  the  screening (Wellensiek,Moodley and Moodley, 2002). If such information was backed up with skilful and effective provision of services, women are more likely to attend and to recommend screening to their friends and family (World Health Organization, 2006). The extent to which women actually are informed about  cancer  and about  screening can be judged simply  by questioning their knowledge (Philips, Avis & Whynes, 2005).
Kreps (2003), argued that “ Communication is pervasive in creating, gathering and sharing health information. It is a central human process that enables individual and collective adaptation to health risks at many different levels”. When communication about health related issues most especially that of cervical cancer is not available to potential victims, it can be a threat to health. Just as Wellensiek,Moodley and Moodley (2002) have observed in their study on “ Knowledge of cervical cancer and use of cervical cancer screening facilities among Women in Various Socioeconomic  Backgrounds  in  Durban”,  women  are  not  properly  enlightened  about  the scourge.No doubt this can be attributed to low tune of awareness  on cervical cancer screening in
* MSC MASS COMM.