Policy Awareness: Communication Channels and Knowledge Gaps in Nigeria's 2024 Health Workforce Migration Policy among Public Health Employees

Background: Announcing a national workforce policy does not establish whether employees recognize its provisions or understand their institutional relevance. This study described recognition, reported information sources, familiarity and policy-statement responses among employees participating in an NCDC Headquarters survey. Methods: A cross-sectional online questionnaire was completed by 400 volunteers recruited through internal WhatsApp communication channels. Participants answered a policy-awareness item; the 191 who reported awareness also answered communication, familiarity and policy-knowledge items. Descriptive frequencies and exploratory comparisons across recorded workforce categories were evaluated using the survey data. Results: Awareness was reported by 191/400 respondents (47.8%). Among those aware, the most frequently named primary source was colleagues or informal discussion (74/191; 38.7%), followed by social media (44/191; 23.0%); official NCDC communication was named by 14 (7.3%). Only 74 aware respondents (38.7%) agreed that they were familiar with key provisions, while 94 (49.2%) agreed that they understood the policy's application to NCDC staff. Answer patterns across five policy statements included substantial "do not know" responses (31.4%-58.1%). None of six omnibus subgroup awareness comparisons met the conventional 0.05 significance threshold. Conclusions: The responses indicate a separation between recognition, recalled dissemination channel and understanding. Findings describe volunteers rather than the NCDC workforce as a whole; they support targeted evaluation of institutional communication without establishing the effectiveness of any specific channel.