ABSTRACT
This study was designed to examine and assess the roles of ICT media in health promotion in Ovia North East Local Government Area in Edo State. To guide this study, three research questions were raised. The survey research design was used in conducting the study. The main instrument employed to carry out this study was a self-structured questionnaire. The population of the study was 229,500. The validity of the instrument was established by giving it to the supervisor and two other experts in the field of the research study. The reliability of the instrument was established using the internal consistency reliability method of reliability which yielded a Coefficient of 0.80. The data obtained from the questionnaires were subjected to analysis using frequency counts and percentages.
Results from the study from 100 respondents showed that ICT seems not to play a role in health promotion in Ovia North East LGA. Also, there appears to be difference in the roles of ICT in rural and urban schools in Ovia North East LGA. Furthermore, accuracy of health information obtained, illiteracy, financial constraints, technological limitations or infrastructural challenges, difficulties in assessing health related information and language barrier are the challenges hindering the roles of ICT in health promotion in Ovia North East LGA.
At the end of the study, it was recommended that collaborating with local influencers and organizations to amplify health messages, creating interactive websites with reliable health information band resources, creating of subsidized access to the internet use and connection, broadcasting health news in languages that will cyer for every member of the community, implementating SMS aor text message campaigns to reach individuals with limited internet access, and, collaborating with local healthcare providers to offer virtual as well as physical health worshop or webinars are ways of increasing the roles played by ICT in health promotion in Ovia North East LGA, Edo State.
