Pages 2021-2.cdr INTRODUCTION Raising awareness is the process which informally educates people regarding the topics or issue with a purpose to influence their a�tudes, beliefs and behaviour towards achieving a defined purpose or goal. It can mobilize the power or opinions of masses in support of issues and challenges for the purpose of influencing the will of decision makers. There are v a r i o u s s t r a t e g i e s a d o p t e d b y t h e Government of India for raising awareness of general masses with the help of different tools and methods which are helpful to 6671 Research Article Journal of Extension Educa�on Vol. 33 No.2, 2021 DOI: h�ps://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2021.2.33.6671-6678 An Assessment of Awareness Campaigns in COVID-19 Management Lalita Va�a*, Sneha Singh* and Ragini Ranawat* ABSTRACT A public awareness campaign is a tool of social marke�ng technique. The quality of awareness campaign is determined based on its effec�veness which is evaluated by its impact on the audience. To know the awareness related to major media campaigns, during the COVID-19 pandemic related to COVID-appropriate behaviour, a survey tool was designed and administered in online mode among 200 young respondents from Varanasi district of U�ar Pradesh, India. Data were collected through Google forms shared via various social pla�orms and snowball sampling technique with age and area related restric�ons. The media campaign which made a great impact on the mind and heart of the respondents were “Do gaj doori mask hai jaroori (Mask and maintaining distance of two yards is necessary) ” and “Jab tak dawai nahi tab tak dhilai nahi (No carelessness �ll a medicine is recommended)” The sources which made people aware were "caller tune" followed by "family and friends" . Almost all components of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour were known to the respondents except, seeking COVID-19 related informa�on from reliable sources and refraining from sharing unverified social media posts. This research throws light on the interven�ons that can be more impac�ul and will thus help in be�er designing and dissemina�on of awareness campaigns in future. Keywords: Awareness campaigns; COVID-19 Management; Sources of awareness; Media campaign on COVID-19; U�ar Pradesh *Department of Home Science, Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (U�ar Pradesh) Received : 22-01-2022; Accepted: 13-07-2022 convey or spread awareness together with support and to influence public opinion towards preven�ve measures of COVID-19. The awareness campaign includes press releases, dissemina�ng reports given by WHO and ICMR, briefings, publica�ons and conclusion of studies, submissions given by commi�ee working for management of C O V I D - 1 9 , w o r k i n g w i t h m e d i a , conferences/webinars related to COVID-19 and crea�ng educa�onal material. Range of different means and tools, such as radio, television, films, internet, social media, newspaper, mobile phones, leaflets and posters were used to disseminate the informa�on and awareness related to COVID-19 before and during the outbreak of pandemic. The frequency of launch of different media campaigns increased with the increasing corona cases. Awareness is defined as a set of various ac�vi�es planned for a set �me, for a specific target group with the aim to increase their knowledge which leads to bringing changes in their behaviour towards t h e s p e c i fi c s o c i a l i s s u e . I m p a c t o f awareness campaign is evaluated on five d i ff e r e n t l e v e l s v i z . , a w a r e n e s s , engagement, change in behaviour, social norms, and wellbeing. Government of India has launched many awareness campaigns to sensi�ze the masses about preventa�ve measures, care during COVID-19, accessing vaccina�on, post COVID-19 health �ps, COVID-19 tes�ng labs etc. in very simple language and through approachable media like mobile phone. Many celebri�es, poli�cians and other responsible ci�zens are trying to change the nega�ve a�tude of the public and mo�va�ng them to avail medical facili�es by coopera�ng with medical personnel, which ul�mately leads to reducing corona virus infec�on in society (Anderson et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2020). A study by Tiwari et al. (2021) on the effects of community awareness and global i n f o r m a � o n c a m p a i g n s , f o u n d t h a t dissemina�on rate of awareness among suscep�ble individuals at community level and individual level plays pivotal role in curtailing the COVID-19 disease. In emergency �mes like the pandemic which affects billions of people across the globe, media can play a vital role. World Health Organisa�on (2020) reported that media c a n b e i d e n� fi e d a s n o co s t p a r � a l treatment at the early stage of epidemic o u t b re a k s w h e n m e d i c a l h e a l t h c a re facili�es and biomedical interven�ons (vaccina�on) are not sufficient to curtail the burden of disease. Media play the role of p r i m e s o u rce of i nfo r m a � o n h av i n g no�ceable impact on the governmental healthcare involvement to bring the epidemic outbreak under control, as it affects individuals' behaviour toward the disease outbreak. In the last few decades, numerous studies have endeavored to assess the i m p a c t o f m e d i a i n v a r i o u s d i s e a s e 6672 Journal of Extension Educa�on 6673 outbreaks. Most of these studies have concluded that media has a posi�ve impact over reducing the transmission of disease. Funk et al. (2009) observed that awareness campaigns can impede disease growth. Misra et al. (2011) reported the impact of awareness programs by introducing an aware class that is isolated, and protected f ro m t h e i n fe c � o n s , fo r m e d by t h e campaigns. Samanta et al. (2013) observed that an aware class caught infec�ons at a lower rate than the unaware class. It was reported that an increased rate of media campaigns results in decreased infec�on. Rai et al. (2021) examined the social media adver�sements' impact on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 pandemic in India and concluded that non-pharmaceu�cal i n t e r v e n � o n s s t r a t e g i e s s h o u l d b e implemented effec�vely to reduce disease burden in India. Thus, it can be stated that various media campaigns, if designed carefully, can be effec�ve in curbing pandemic like situa�ons in future. Assessing the effec�veness of awareness campaigns can provide an insight into what appeals to the current genera�on and what kind of interven�ons can result i n t o m a x i m u m i m p a c t i n t e r m s o f behavioural change. Agriculture is a field which requires constant awareness drives for the farming community about new technologies, weather warnings, possible pest a�acks or even newer policies and schemes. Hence, assessing the awareness campaigns of such a wide scale which has endeavoured to touch millions of lives, can prove to be beneficial for policy makers and e x t e n s i o n p e r s o n n e l i n t h e fi e l d o f agriculture. The present research was conducted during the peak of COVID-19 second wave i.e. during the month of April, 2021 to assess the awareness and knowledge about major media campaigns and their key messages. METHODOLOGY Study Design and Sampling The present research was conducted with 200 youth (100 males and 100 females of age between 19 and 24 years) residing in Varanasi, U�ar Pradesh, India as a part of a Post-Gradua�on Disserta�on paper. This cross-sec�onal study u�lised a self- administered, online ques�onnaire which was distributed through social media viz. Facebook, WhatsApp and emails across Varanasi throughout April 2021. The ques�onnaire was created, designed, and disseminated using the google forms pla�orm. Par�cipants were encouraged to fill out the form and assist in sharing the ques�onnaire with their family members, friends and rela�ves. Thus, par�cipants were recruited by a snowball sampling technique. Moreover, par�cipants were limited to one response to avoid duplicated or exaggerated data. Included par�cipants were those who are currently living in Varanasi (U�ar Pradesh), had given an An Assessment of Awareness Campaigns in Covid-19 Management i n f o r m e d c o n s e n t a n d s u c c e s s f u l l y completed the ques�onnaire. Par�cipants residing outside the aforemen�oned area and outside the men�oned age range were e x c l u d e d . I n t h e l i g h t o f t h e recommenda�ons of self-isola�on and home quaran�ne, online surveys were considered the most appropriate method for data collec�on. The tool included q u e s � o n s r e l a t e d t o b a c k g r o u n d informa�on (their name, age, residence etc), awareness about major media campaigns (slogans), source of awareness about these campaigns and key components of COVID- 19 appropriate behaviour. The sta�s�cal methods applied for data analysis were percentage analysis and chi square. Data Collec�on The data were collected in the month of April, 2021 when the second wave of COVID-19 was in its peak in India. Youth were selected as respondents because they are spending their �me more on internet as well as they could be helpful in spreading these messages fast and can play a key role in the ba�le of COVID-19 vs human beings. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This sec�on deals with presenta�on of data collected through ques�onnaire and its discussion. To facilitate the data presenta�on, the sec�on is divided into two sec�ons- Sec�on- I- Background Informa�on of respondents Sec�on-II-Awareness about major media campaigns on COVID-19 and their sources Sec�on- I- Background Informa�on of respondents D a t a r e g a r d i n g b a c k g r o u n d informa�on revealed that 68 percent male and 32 percent female par�cipated in the survey, out of which maximum number of males (41%) belonged to 22-24 age c at e go r y a n d m a x i m u m fe m a l e s ( 4 0 percent) belonged to 19-21 years of age. Their distribu�on according to their educa�on depicts that majority among both t h e g e n d e r s w e r e p u r s u i n g o r h a d completed their post-gradua�on degree (42% male and 45% female) and their residence (71 % male and 70 % female) is in Varanasi, U�ar Pradesh, India. Sec�on-II-Awareness about major media campaigns on COVID-19 and their sources G o v e r n m e n t h a d t a k e n v a r i o u s ini�a�ves to protect people of India from pandemic, including crea�ng awareness, imposing lock downs and establishment of temporary hospitals for the treatment of pa�ents. High density of popula�on had been a ma�er of serious concern for the government in be�er management of COVID-19. Government of India had made efforts to make people aware about COVID- 1 9 t h ro u g h d i g i t a l m e d i a . T h e fi r s t successful effort was to set a caller tune in 6674 Journal of Extension Educa�on female voice who was telling (to the person who ini�ated the call) about COVID-19. This caller tune con�nued for approximately six months, a�erwards replaced by a new message and a new voice. 6675 Table 1. Awareness about Key Messages of Media Awareness Campaigns N=200 Analysis of Table -1 shows that the most popular media campaign was “Do gaj doori Mask hai jaroori” which was on �ps followed by “Jab tak dawai nahi, tab tak dhilai nahi”. Both the messages were promoted by the most reputed names of India viz., the Prime Minister of India and a popular film actor, which shows the human psychology of people to focus on the things which are promoted by famous people. Least no�ced messages were “Koi road par na nikle (No one on the road)”, “#unite to fight corona” and “Badalkar apna vyahvar karenge korona par vaar (Through change in behaviour, we will a�ack corona”. The chi square test sta�s�c 2 in case of “Do gaj doori Mask hai jaroori” (χ = 13.50, p=0.0001), “Jab tak dawai nahi, tab 2 tak dhilai nahi” (χ = 14.32, p=0.0001), “Stay 2 home stay safe” (χ = 12.56, p=0.0021), 2 “Corona harega Desh Jitega” (χ = 13.23, 2 p=0.009) and “be clean and be safe” (χ = 9 . 3 4 , p = 0 . 0 0 0 3 ) w a s f o u n d t o b e sta�s�cally significant based on ɑ level of significance (0.05). There was no significant difference between the awareness levels of male and female respondents. The above data could imply that for a message to cause significant impact, it is be�er to associate with a celebrity. In a study by Krishnan et.al. (2021), it was An Assessment of Awareness Campaigns in Covid-19 Management Key messages Awareness Male (%) n=100 Female (%) n=100 Stay Home Stay Safe 82 81 #Unite to Fight Corona 14 8 Be clean Be Healthy (Saaf Rahe Swasth Rahe) 61 73 Jab Tak Dawai nahi tab tak Dhilai Nahi (No carelessness �ll a medicine is found) 92 90 Do Gaj Doori Mask Hai Jaroori (Mask and maintaining distance of two yards is necessary) 95 97 Koi road par na Nikle (No one should go on Road) 22 10 Badal Kar apna Vyahvar Karenge Karona par war (through change in behaviour, we will a�ack corona) 9 2 Corona harega, desh jitega (Corona will lose and country will win) 68 74 Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 6676 Journal of Extension Educa�on Table 2. Sources of informa�on about COVID-19 concluded that games can also be highly effec�ve media for spreading awareness about COVID-19 appropriate behaviour if due considera�on is given to its looks, design, ease of playing etc. Sources of COVID-19 awareness With the restric�ons of social d i s t a n c i n g ( n o w o rd o f m o u t h) a n d hesita�on for print media (because of risk of ge�ng infected through newspapers), there were less op�ons in terms of choice of media . At the ini�al stage, Government of India instructed all telecom companies to make COVID-19 messages as caller tune, with a simple message that has a sound of cough followed by COVID-19 informa�on. This was perceived as annoying by many, so this tune was then changed to a female voice who informed people about corona. A re v i e w o f Ta b l e - 2 s h o w s t h a t t h i s experiment was successful as 93 % male and 92% female respondents received the informa�on about COVID-19 from caller tune. In addi�on, family and friends were the major source of informa�on for both males and females (81% and 74%). The respondents were youth so higher use of internet as source of informa�on for covid was expected, but it is interes�ng to see that internet use as source of informa�on was at higher side in males (72%) as 2 compared to females (57%) (χ = 8.72, p=0.031). It could possibly indicate the gender difference in technology access. Time spent on TV was found to be more in female respondents and reason could be their lesser access to internet and TV was the next best thing. During COVID Lock down-I, people read only e-newspapers. Besides this, “youth is always less i n t e r e s t e d i n r e a d i n g n e w s p a p e r ” (Bharucha, 2017). The study by Semwal and Ranawat (2020) reported an increase in media usage during lockdown and found it to be effec�ve in dissemina�ng informa�on about safety measures. The chi square test 2 sta�s�c in case of internet use (χ = 12.49, p=0.0002), caller tune based informa�on 2 (χ = 11.09, p=0.0003) and via friends and Source Male (%) n=100 Female (%) n=100 Internet 72 57 Caller tune 93 92 TV 12 24 Newspaper 16 11 Family and Friends 81 74 Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6677 2 family (χ = 10.71, p=0.0002) was found to be sta�s�cally significant based on ɑ level of significance (0.05). Awareness about key components of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour COVID-19 pandemic has led to extraordinary and unforeseen challenges which need collec�ve ac�on and support from all. To overcome this situa�on and win over it, everyone should know about their roles and goals. For this, Government of India issued a guideline of COVID-19 a p p r o p r i a t e b e h a v i o u r w h i c h w a s popularised through various media. 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