MEDIA
AND
HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Rabeea Umer
Bc210207927
Introduction
■ Today Media plays a vital role to educate the masses on health issues.
■ The nature of media to reach far away places makes it an ideal
medium to deliver messages
■ Relevant health messages aids the government health sector to deal
with rising diseases
■ Even the uneducated class can understand messages shown on TV or
sent on radio.
■ An example of media dissemination of health messages can be of
Covid-19 when government aired messages about precautions and
treatment of the virus.
■ Responsible media messages can eliminate fake news and rumours.
Critical Analysis
■ A study discusses the limitations of spreading health messages on
media wuch as barrier, poorly researched messages.
■ Another study shows how media played responsible during Covid-19
■ A study discusses how media contains mixed information on health
issues and not everything should be trusted.
Current Dimensions of Media and
Health Education
Role of Media
■ Different forms of media help in targeting different audiences
■ Messages curated with audio and visual have a great impact on the
people.
■ Geographically varied messages cater to different issues and in
specific languages.
■ Government designs specific messages and are trusted by the citizens
■ Locals receive messages in local languages through different
mediums like magazines, radio or Television
New Technology
■ Current technology enables messages to be delivered instantly.
■ Information on various issues is available online but contaminated
with false information.
■ Unlimited information is available on social media with captivating
visuals.
Online medical practices
■ Government is making commendable efforts for the digitisation of
health.
■ Free helpline, websites, social media pages and emails are setup to
provide free medical advice online.
■ Online clinics are setup where patients can discuss their health issues
online and save time and money to travel to the clinics.
Media Literacy:
■ Media literacy empowers the user to analyse the information available
online
■ It is important to be able to filter correct information on the Internet
where correct and wrong information is mixed up which can cause
harm.
■ It is important to check for the source as random channels
containerised information like wrong treatment and remedies.
■ Messages from the credible health sectors or government are most
credible and should be sought after.
■ People who are aware should spread information around them and
educate others of right practices.
■ Do not accept messages or fall for false claims from health brands
which offer unrealistic claims like shedding weight in 7 days.
Digitised Health Department In Pakistan
■ Tele clinics have started in Pakistan which takes the load off the
health sector.
■ Lesser crowds mean lesser spread of infection.
■ Patients can conveniently consult from home.
Social and Mobile Media in Pakistan’s Health Sector
■ Social media platform works actively in educating people about
different ailments.
■ There are groups dedicated to different medical conditions like
diabetes and people greatly benefit from them by connecting with
others suffering from the same disease.
■ These platforms work positively in changing the mindsets of people
and convincing them to act in time and responsibly like to get
vaccinated.
Positive Impacts of Media on Health Education
■ Easy access to health information
■ Public Health messages
■ Addressing medical issues
■ Updated information
■ Health collaboration beyond borders
Negative Impacts of Media on Health Education
■ Misleading information
■ Fake Advertisements
■ Excessive advertising
Challenges of health education and Media in Pakistan
■ Decades old practices
■ Disperse population
■ Cultural diversity
■ Limited access to Internet
■ Inconsistent health messages
■ Lack of facilities in health care centres
■ Ill coordinated messages
■ Financial crises
■ Conservative society
Opportunities Of media and health education in Pakistan
■ Better e-health practices with spread of Internet
■ Effective public health campaigns
■ Uneducated can also understand messages from the media
■ Messages can be targeted to locals in local languages
Conclusion
■ Media holds great potential in educating masses about health issues
■ Media disseminate the message instantly
■ With correct use of media health practice can improve greatly.
■ Taboo topics and stereotypes can also be effectively addressed on
media
■ People are trusting the government and message more now.
