Abstract

The aim of this research was to make recommendations to the public about the health risks of audio media exposure and share this information with their patients, families, and the community.

A literature study was conducted on behavioral problems and on the use of audio-visual media to address these. Thereafter an empirical investigation was done by means of a case study design. Websites were also selected for addressing a variety of topics.

The most important findings were that in the locality of Buea, many people have positive views about audio visual content. Majority of them find it rather entertaining and as such it always keeps them glued to it.

The findings indicate that various media outlets help in spreading information about diseases and their means of prevention. It is concluded that many people use these contents frequently and they agree to a vast degree that audio visual content should be promoted.

Based on the findings it was recommended that pediatricians Promote media education as a means to help mitigate some of the unhealthy effects of media.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

“Audiovisual media is a media that can be seen, felt and heard” (kasihani, 2007; P.102) Audiovisual (AV) is media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations (Barman, 1984) films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.

Audiovisual service providers frequently offer web streaming, video conferencing, and live broadcast services (Cleggy, 2014). Computer-based audiovisual equipment is often used in education, with many schools and universities installing projection equipment and using interactive whiteboard technology.

Looking at health outcomes, it should be recalled that the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) was founded in 2012 by recognised experts from the Institute for Strategy and Competiveness, the Boston Consulting Group and the Karolinska Institute, ICHOM organises global teams of physician leaders, outcomes researchers and patient advocates to define Standard Sets of outcomes per medical condition, and then drives adoption to enable health care providers globally to compare, learns, and improve.

ICHOM aims to define global Standard Sets of outcome measures and then drive adoption and reporting of these measures worldwide.

The prioritization of developing each new Standard Set depends on the disease burden, the level of engagement among clinicians who can help develop and promote the Standard Set and available funding.

The ICHOM focus on what matters to patients in determining outcomes from the work of one of its founders, “in any field, quality should be measured from the customer’s perspective, not the supplier’s. In health care, outcomes should be centred on the patient, not the individual units or specialties involved in care” (Michael Porter, 2010).

Porter points out that this means outcomes measures ought to consider the success of all the acute care, related complications, rehabilitation and reoccurrences a patient experience for a particular condition or as part of preventive care, rather the outcome of a single intervention that is part of on-going care.

This is because a single intervention, such as a surgical procedure, may be successful in its aims but if the patient’s subsequent rehabilitation fails, for example, the outcome is poor. Porter sums this up as patient satisfaction with care is a process measure, not an outcome.

Patient satisfaction with health is an outcome measure. Health outcomes, according to Porter and the work of ICHOM, can be defined according to health status, process of recovery and sustainability of health. These should be defined specifically for each medical condition.

Determining health outcomes can be a major hurdle in progressing to collecting and using outcomes data. There is, as yet, no standard definition of health outcomes in the UK or internationally. It is important to distinguish outcomes from outputs.

Health outputs have been the traditional way to quantify healthcare delivery and are an important source of data but do not provide the information required to measure value and improve healthcare. Outcomes include patient-reported measures about patients’ care and specific data about the efficacy of the treatment patients receive in addressing their condition. Health outcomes, although not defined precisely by clinicians, are understood in a similar way.

According to Australia’s New South Wales Health Department(2016), a health outcome is the change in the health of an individual, group of people or population which is attributable to an intervention or series of interventions.

This definition is helpful because it makes clear that determining health outcomes, first and foremost, involves measuring a change. Secondly, they can relate to individual patients or entire populations and finally, the outcomes are related to specific interventions.

According to the African development bank, African health systems face huge financing deficits. Compared to a global average of 5.4 percent of GDP, current government spending averages 2.5 percent of GDP and falls far short of that needed even to provide basic care. While spending on health care in high income countries exceeded US$ 2,000 per person per year, in Africa it averaged between US$ 13 and US$ 21 in 2001 (Commission for Africa, 2004).

The Commission for Macroeconomics and Health (2001) recommended that spending for health care in sub Saharan Africa should rise to US$ 34 per person per year by 2007, and to US$ 38 by 2015, which represents roughly 12 percent of GNP.

This is the minimum amount needed to deliver basic treatment and care for the major communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria), and early childhood and maternal illnesses. Similarly, some argue for a massive scaling up of public health and other social sector expenditure (Sachs, 2004).

Key issues for policy and health sector strategy are how far public expenditure has been instrumental in bringing about the progress in health status experienced in developing countries over the five decades, and what programs have been particularly effective (Roberts, 2003).

The use of radio as an audio visual media can be an excellent channel to transmit health related messages to areas that are difficult to reach by other media, since battery- or solar-powered radios function independently from any electricity grid. However, rural households in developing countries tend to own a single radio or TV set only, which is more commonly used and controlled by male members of the household.

As a result, messages targeted at women are less likely to reach their audience, unless additional radios are provided that can be used without batteries (e.g. solar-powered or wind-up). (UNIFEM, 2007: Women Building Peace and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict-affected Contexts). 

The timing of broadcasts is also important for the same reason – women may be better able to listen to radio messages when men are not at home, so broadcasts in the afternoon could be more effective than in the evening or early morning.

1.2 Statement of the problem

One of the key problems faced by rural audiences in a developing country such as Cameroon is the lack of an effective communication strategy with a suitable media mix, to foster the education of the masses and the transition of health-related development messages and other aspects such as agriculture, rural welfare, village industries and a host of other subjects. The creation of an efficient communication strategy involves an understanding of various teaching approaches and the mix of media.

 In Cameroon, development functionaries use various methods of communication to interact with the masses that have various levels of understanding and comprehensions.

Although different types of traditional audio visual media continue to play important role in the process of communication in rural areas, the emerging technologies in communication needs to be examined for their full utilization and their potential for convergence with other existing communication technologies on their effects on rural audiences

In every field of society, the proliferation of audiovisual communications technologies, including sound, video, lighting, display and projection systems, is apparent: in industry, education, government, military, health, retail, worship, sports and entertainment, hospitality, restaurants and museums.

Collaborative conferencing (which involves video-conferencing, audio-conferencing, web-conferencing and data-conferencing); presentation rooms, auditoriums and lecture halls; command and control centers; digital signage and more are used for the implementation of audiovisual systems. This study therefore sets out to examine the effects of audio-visual aid on one of such sectors, of health; particularly on rural audiences

Research questions of the study

Main research question

What are the effects of audio visual media on Health outcome of rural audiences?

1.3.2 Specific questions of the study

Specifically, this study seeks to ask the following questions

• What are the various types of visual aids, audio aids and audio-visual aids and their role in rural development and the improvement of the audience health
• What are the different audio-visual media that rural communities have access to?
• What is the importance of combining of various media for effective information dissemination in rural wealth initiatives?

SIMILAR JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION PROJECT TOPICS WITH MATERIALS

WHATSAPP US HERE