Health Information Needs and Dissemination Strategy in Rural Communities of Northern Nigeria

摘要

This survey investigated the health information needs and dissemination strategy among rural community dwellers in four states of Northern Nigeria. 6,000 adults were randomly sampled in the study area. A checklist of health – related issues was the main instrument used for data collection. Simple Frequency Counts, Mean Score and Rank Order statistics were used for data analysis. The study found that rural community dwellers required information for different health challenges. It also found that the primary strategy adopted for health information dissemination among the people was the oral format complemented with print and electronic media. It equally discovered that health care professionals from government departments and agencies were the sole health information disseminators in the rural communities. The paper, therefore, recommended that language experts, information scientists, political groups, religious leaders and communities themselves should collaborate with health care professionals to disseminate health messages among the grassroots so that health promotion in the rural communities of Nigeria can be more effective and rewarding.