Type of Mass Media Exposure Effects on ZIKA-Related Knowledge and Behavior among Pregnant Women in Thailand

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of exposure to ZIKA information, knowledge and preventive behavior from mass media among pregnant women in a health district zone in Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised pregnant women aged between 18-45 years old, from Health Promotion Center Region 5. The sample size was estimated using 95% confidence interval levels to appropriately represent pregnant women. Valid responses were collected from 395 participants. The sample selection was divided into two stages. First, we randomly selected four provinces from the eight provinces and then selected the district health promotion center in each province. Second, we selected a specific number of pregnant women using a proportional sampling selection. The total number of samples was 395 cases. Furthermore, a multivariate regression linear was applied to analyze the effect of the independent variables towards the dependent variable. RESULTS: The study showed that occupation, mass media exposure from internet media and personal sources had a significant effect on ZIKA-related knowledge. Moreover, education level, pregnancy check-up, mass media exposure from electronic, print and personal sources had led to a significantly higher practice of ZIKA-preventive behavior. The independent variables showed the variation of ZIKA-related knowledge and preventive behavior of 11% and 31%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results show that mass media can play an important role in helping to prevent transmission of ZIKA. Mass media can bring positive results at the community level, which will often involve ZIKA discussions between families and neighbors, and eventually leads to changes in behavior.