Media Influence on Youth Health Awareness amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Study on the Role of Public Service Announcements and TV News

This study investigates the role of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and News on TV in creating COVID-19-related health awareness among Pakistani youth. Guided by the agenda-setting theory, the research explores how electronic media coverage adopted media, public, and policy agenda stages in disseminating health precautionary measures during the pandemic outbreak. An online survey was conducted using a questionnaire tool of 32 items with Cronbach's alpha value (α = 0.922). One sample t-test, correlation, and frequency distribution were applied to compare the mean values and to observe the relation between independent and dependent variables of the selected sample of youth (N=436), living in Lahore including both males and females under the age of 18 to 32 years old. Results have shown that government-led PSAs significantly improve youth awareness and knowledge about COVID-19, combating misinformation. Moreover, findings support youth reliance on PSAs and a positive response to vaccination against COVID-19.