Influence of family planning media campaigns on the residents of Iyale Community in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract The contribution of mass media to family relationship is immeasurable. This is because they set agenda on social issues affecting the growth and development of the family, including child spacing and family planning. This study is geared towards assessing media use in sensitization of residents in Iyale community on family planning, with objectives of ascertaining the exposure to the media messages on family planning, examining the mass media used to sensitize families on family planning, finding out the influence of family planning campaign and determining the challenges in the media messages on family planning among families in Iyale, Kogi State. Agenda setting theory of the media was used to explain the study, while empirical and conceptual literature relevant to the study were reviewed. A sample of 257 was selected, using systematic sampling, with nth term as 5, from a population of 1,285 households in Iyale community, according to the Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board, while structured questionnaire was used as research instrument. It was found out that although most of the respondents (87%) had access to media messages on family planning, such messages were inhibited by poor planning and lack of consideration of the social realities of the people. It was concluded that there is need for all-inclusive information, to enlighten the residents of Iyale on the need for family planning. Therefore, it was recommended that family planning campaign should be aired more on radio, using local languages and consider the peoples social realities if achieving the result of the campaign is anything to go by. Key Words: Media, Campaign, Media Campaign, Family Planning, Media Exposure About the Author *Glory Ojima Abuh-Adejoh is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Mass Communication, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria and a senior correspondent with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Her areas of interest in research are communication tactics for advancing reproductive health, the impact of media campaigns on health behaviour change, and the function of media in promoting social change. JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, April 2024, pp. 119-130 © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON). Article Citation Abuh-Adejoh, G. O. (2024). Influence of family planning media campaigns on the residents of Iyale Community in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16 (1): 119-130. Full Article Words: 7,168 Pages: 12 To access full article, click on download.