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Endogenous pathways and dissemination of personal cleanliness and family hygiene to rural farmers in South Eastern Nigeria


N.E. Egeonu
P.N. Ajuka
Nwachukwu Ike

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of endogenous channels in transferring messages on personal cleanliness and family hygiene to rural farmers. The study was carried out in Southeastern Agro-Ecological zone of Nigeria. Four research objectives were proposed to guide the study. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select respondents for the study. Four states were selected for the study; two states that participated in UNICEF promoted community dialogue and two that never participated. Two LGAs were sampled from each of the states and from each LGA, two autonomous communities. Twenty-five respondents were sampled from each of the communities. This gave a total of two hundred respondents from each group of rural farmers. A set of questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Frequency counts, percentages, mean as well as Z-Statistic were used to analyse the data collected from the study. Result of the analysis shows that respondents that participated in the community dialogue had better knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards the messages on personal cleanliness and family hygiene than the nonparticipants. Result of the Z-Statistic shows that at 1 per cent level of significance there are differences in the attitude and behaviour of participants and nonparticipants towards messages on personal cleanliness and family hygiene. Based on the result it was recommended that Non-Governmental Organisations, government agencies and media houses disseminating messages on sanitation and hygiene should use communication channels that are integrative and appeal to both the senses of the audience and their social status.

Keywords: Message, Channel, Endogenous, Rural Transfer, and Communication


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print ISSN: 0300-368X