| dc.description.abstract | The COVID-19 pandemic occurred unexpectedly and spread rapidly, prompting the
media to play a crucial role in informing and educating the public about it. This saw
media stations such as 103.9 MMUST FM adopt strategies to reach their audience
promptly. The strategies adopted by the media station and the engagement of
participants from 2020 to 2021 form the basis of this study. The research specifically
intended to determine the communication strategies employed by 103.9 MMUST FM
to disseminate COVID-19 information, to establish the factors that affected the
audience's attention and participation in 103.9 MMUST FM’s communication
regarding COVID-19 and to evaluate the relevance of the radio station’s messages and
programming for COVID-19 pandemic communication. The Framing Theory and
Social Cognitive theories were used to explain this study. A mixed-method approach
was adopted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from the respondents. The
study area was Lurambi Sub-County, which has a high population as compared to the
other eleven sub-counties in Kakamega County. This made it a high-risk area for the
spread of the Virus. This is because close interaction made it easier for the spread of
the virus through the respiratory droplets, such as saliva. It is in the area where the
station’s signal is strongest, hence suitable for this study. The target population for
quantitative data was the 188,212 residents of Lurambi Sub-County (KNBS, 2019). For
qualitative data, the target was 2 producers from the radio station and 2 COVID-19
health experts whom the radio station had hosted during the pandemic, between 2020
and 2021. To obtain the sample size for the study, Krejcie and Morgan’s Sampling
formula was used to pick 115 residents of Lurambi Sub-County. 2 MMUST FM
producers and 2 COVID-19 health experts interviewed by the radio station were
identified purposively for the study too, making it a total of 119 respondents. The
instruments used for quantitative data collection were questionnaires for the residents
of Lurambi Sub-County and interview guides for the key informants, providing
qualitative data. The validity of the questionnaires was determined through peer
debriefing, an external audit, and a prolonged period of field participation. At the same
time, trustworthiness was established through participant validation of the qualitative
data. Instrument reliability was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha. Quantitative data
obtained from the questionnaires were edited, coded, and entered into the computer for
analysis with the aid of statistical software (SPSS v27). The study employed descriptive
statistics for quantitative data, utilizing frequencies, percentages, tables, graphs, and
charts to enhance clarity. Thematic analysis was conducted on the qualitative data
obtained from the interviews, and the results were presented in the form of themes. This
study discovered that the communication strategies employed by MMUST FM to
disseminate their COVID-19 pandemic communication were: Language use,
Dedicating an entire program to the dissemination of COVID-19 information,
Consistency in communicating about the COVID-19 pandemic, Use of experts and role
models, Frequency in airing information about the COVID-19 and Openness observed
during the broadcasts. This study will help inform the structure of health
communication on pandemics for radio, enabling it to reach its target audience
effectively. It also recommends that every household should have access to a radio set
for better reach of the target audience with information of public interest that affects
them. Further research should be done on gender roles and participation in the radio
stations’ public health programs. | en_US |
