Media Messages, And Its Effect On the Health Awareness of the Citizens, COVID-19, During The Curfew in The Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

This study is an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of media messages related to the Corona Virus pandemic (COVID-19) on the health awareness of media users. The period of wandering was determined from 14 March to 16 April 2020, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and a timeframe and the responses of 750 respondents distributed in the four governorates of the region. After analyzing the responses to the questionnaire survey, the study reached several results, most notably: Media messages have a significant impact on the awareness of the recipient audience and have managed to persuade the vast majority of them to adhere to the health authorities ’instructions. Social media networks ranked first among the traditional and new media, in terms of their approval by the public as a primary source for providing information and news related to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by Kurdish and international TV channels in second place. Among other results, the study showed that most of the respondents prefer breaking news and news over the talk shows with health professionals. A small minority of respondents are still indifferent to health instructions and do not care about media messages. Finally, it became clear that the majority believes that the media should consider the psychological state of the receiving audience and reduce the publication of negative and painful news about the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and various crises.