Analyzing & Evaluating the Effects of Public Service Messages about Dengue in Punjab-Pakistan

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the impact of public service messages about Dengue in Punjab, Pakistan. The aim was to measure the perceived effectiveness of public service messages, knowledge, attitudes, and practices in the context of Health Belief Model constructs. The pre-constructed questionnaire was used to collect data from 540 respondents through the survey method. The findings indicated a significant difference in the perceived effectiveness of the PSM between normal and diseased. Among normal people. There was a significant difference in knowledge about Dengue among people belonging to different socioeconomic backgrounds. A positive and significant relationship between knowledge and attitudes toward dengue was discovered, with a linear regression model indicating a 54.7% positive impact on attitudes. In addition, perceived susceptibility to dengue had a significant impact on dengue prevention measures (p-value>0.05). But the impact of perceived severity on the preventive measures was not noteworthy (p-value =.144 > 0.05). Moreover, the perceived benefits of Dengue had a significant impact on the self-efficacy but Perceived barriers were negatively correlated with self-efficacy, although the correlation was very weak (r = -16). Furthermore, exposure to the media and participation in health-related awareness had a significant impact on knowledge. TV, newspapers, and health clinics/hospitals were rated the most effective and leading sources of Dengue awareness.